Otis Edgar Kirby, jr., 91, slipped quietly away from this earth on August 1, 2023,
surrounded by his family at his home. He served his country spending four
years as a hospital corpsman in the US Navy, and then attended Birmingham
Southern College and the University of Alabama dental school. As a Methodist
PK (Preacher’s Kid), Ed lived in many cities prior to moving with his family to
Decatur during his high school years. This is the place he felt he had the
deepest roots and so chose to move to Decatur with his family in 1961. His
dental practice thrived for a short 55 years! Ed often said that the biggest thing
he missed most after retirement was getting to see friends at least every six
months.
Ed loved being a dentist and was able to use this passion to help others in
Honduras and Bolivia, sharing these trips with so many family members and
friends. Ed was a long time member of Decatur First United Methodist Church
where he thoroughly enjoyed singing in the choir. He made sure we knew his
favorite “dental hymn”,
Crown Him With Many Crowns
. Some of his fondest
memories were singing
The Seven Last Words
,
Hallelujah Chorus
and
Bless This
House
among other anthems. Ed was also a long time member of the Decatur
Rotary Club where he always looked forward to Monday lunch meetings. He
was honored to be a past president and a Paul Harris Fellow. Something that
Ed and Barbara shared was their love for their Walk to Emmaus community. He
served in almost all capacities on a great many Walks. He showed his love for
serving and loved being a part of his reunion group that supported and lifted
each other up weekly.
Last, but certainly not least, Ed was a part of a group of golfers who met several
times a week to play. Over the years the group changed a bit as some left and
others joined, but they remained such a great group of caring and supportive
friends.
Ed and Barbara were married for 66 years and made forever friends early on in
Decatur. These friends became and still are their “Family of Choice”. He was
such an incredibly blessed man and knew it. He was so humbled by the
outpouring of love, prayers, blessings and food from so many friends!
Along with his wife, Barbara, he is survived by his older brother, Richard (Rip)
Kirby of Las Vegas, NV; children Ed, III (Melissa) Sorrento, FL, Ann Marie (Lyle
Chaney), Marietta, GA, Jenny Lee (Bob Allgood), Suwanee, GA, grandchildren
Bobbie (Matt Clark), Tyler Chaney (Eleanor), Max Chaney, Anna Allgood, John
Allgood, Bo Allgood, great-grandchildren, Olivia, Ben and Collins, and three
nephews and a niece.
