Kirk died peacefully in his sleep at home with family next to him. He will be missed by his children, Terry, Kevin and Martha Bosworth; sister Gael Stein; grandson, Adam Bosworth, wife Kristina, and their sons, Kilian, Ivar, Stellan, and Ronan; and granddaughter, Laura Treichler, husband John, and their daughter, Peyton, and son, Tyler. Numerous nephews and nieces will remember him always. Kirk’s wife of 60 years died before him, in 2017. Sisters Patricia Bell and Polly Whitcomb McEwing also predeceased him. His parents were Bernard “Bun” Bosworth and Pauline Sullivan Bosworth.
Kirk’s early childhood was spent in Bristol, Vt., which remained a place close to his heart. In the late 1930s, the family moved to Burlington, Vt., where Kirk began school at Ira Allen Grade School. While Bun was serving in the South Pacific during World War II, Pauline packed up the family and moved to St. Johns, Fla., and later drove across the country to Dinuba, Calif. When Bun returned after the war, the family drove back to Vermont. Kirk attended Burlington High School, where he ran track and became captain of the football team. He went on to complete a BA at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1955.
Having participated in the college Navy ROTC, Kirk joined the U.S. Navy and went to flight training school in Pensacola, Fla. He went on to serve as a pilot and squadron commander, achieving the rank of lieutenant. In 1956, while on leave with a training buddy in Brownsville, Texas, he met and married Jean McClelland, who was visiting from Omaha, Neb. He resigned his commission in 1964, and the family moved to Vermont and into the family home on Colchester Avenue in Burlington.
Kirk began a 35-year career as an English teacher at Essex Junction High School. He developed a curriculum including the study of Shakespeare’s plays, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and English and American poetry. During the first summer breaks, he took courses at the University of Vermont and earned a master’s degree. For several summers he taught English as a second language at Saint Michael’s College.
Kirk loved outdoor activities with his children, nephews and nieces, and even the neighborhood kids. In the winter he built snow forts, flooded a skating rink and took them skiing. He and his brother-in-law Ed Whitcomb rigged a rope tow on a slope at the Essex Farm, providing riotous fun for the cousins. In the summer there were overnight hiking trips in the Green Mountains and in the Pemagewasset Wilderness, sailing adventures with brother-in-law Bill Bell from Cape Cod to Schoodic Point, and canoe voyages on the Allagash.
Kirk was an enthusiastic and accomplished downhill skier. For several winter seasons he took on a weekend maintenance job at Bolton Valley Resort to provide his children and himself with season’s ski passes. He served as a member of the National Ski Patrol at Smuggler’s Notch Resort, always making sure Terry, Kevin and Martha could ski as often as they wanted to. Kirk kept on skiing regularly up to the age of 89.
In retirement Kirk joined Kevin in volunteering as a coach in the Vermont Special Olympics. He accompanied Jean delivering Meals on Wheels and continued with Terry until a week before his death. He spent many solitary hours exploring the rivers and lakes of northern Vermont in his kayak. He enjoyed fly-fishing — not to catch fish but for the pleasure of casting flies and spotting trout.
Kirk had a soft spot for all animals, particularly the family dogs and cats, from the legendary John of his childhood to Martha’s dog John, who went on sailing trips. Later dogs Ace and then Otis accompanied Kirk everywhere he went. His last night was spent with a cat sleeping on the foot of his bed.
Kirk will be remembered for his irreverent sense of humor, wordplay and wide-ranging knowledge. Stargazing, Greek mythology, history, the natural world — his children counted on Kirk to know everything.
A celebration of life for Kirk and Jean will take place on October 25, 2026, at the Essex Resort, Essex, Vt.. Visiting hours will be from 1 to 4 p.m.