Daniel Henry Kirkham, 82, died peacefully Friday, February 7, 2020.
Memorial Service: 3 p.m., Sunday, February 16, 2020 at Biggers Funeral Chapel.
Dan was born in Akron, Ohio to Lester and Catherine (Arbuckle) Kirkham. His family soon moved to Rapid City, S.D.. A few years later, his twin sisters, Nancy and Shirley were born, whom he loved and teased unmercilessly throughout their childhood. Dan enjoyed an adventure-filled childhood exploring the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.
At an early age, Dan enjoyed hard work. Whether it was a paper route, bagging groceries or long summers working on relatives’ ranches in Montana and Wyoming, Dan was driven to stay busy and be productive. These early years laid the foundation of hard work, honesty and common sense mentality that stayed with him throughout his life.
Dan attended the University of South Dakota, where he was a member of the fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. He credits the many friendships and experiences with his fraternity as having a lasting positive impact on his life.
Upon graduations in 1957, Dan rose through the ranks of JC Penny in Denver, Colo. The Kirkham family moved to Dallas, in the late 1960’s, where Dan would open and manage some of the first Target stores in DFW. In 1975, Dan joined the executive team at Pier 1 in Fort Worth. Finally, Dan started his own retail chain of stores called THE IMPORT STORE that served the DFW area until he retired.
Throughout his retail life, Dan was driven to work hard. He respected and valued the customer. His no-nonsense straight talking approach to business and life was (almost always) valued by his employees, friends and family.
Special thanks to the caregivers at Sunrise Senior Living in Fort Worth, Visiting Angels, Silverado Hospice and the many others who helped Dan thrive in his last four years with Dementia.
Dan is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 61 years, Ann Kirkham.
Survivors: Dan is survived by his sister, Nancy Forderhase and husband, Gene of Naples, Fla.; son, Matt Kirkham and wife, Kari of Fort Worth; daughter, Kathy Rector and husband, Andy of Azle; grandsons, Brett Rector and wife, Ashley of Dallas, Jake Rector of Austin, and Joe Kirkham of Fort Worth; great-grandson, James “Jack” Andrew Rector; great-granddaughter, Mary Katherine Rector; nieces and nephews
