James Kirk Casselman, age 76, died at home with his wife of 52 years, Louise, by his side. Kirk was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 but lived an active life throughout his illness, finding ways to maintain his positive outlook and radiant smile until his death on March 31st, 2021.
Kirk was born in Huntington Woods, Michigan, the second son of Ed and Jane Casselman. He grew up with his older brother Scott, younger brother Gary, and little sister Carol. Kirk was a charismatic leader and a natural intellect from an early age. At Berkeley High School, Kirk was a straight A student, class president and Valedictorian. He spent summers with his family at Sage Lake learning to waterski backwards on one ski. Always a generous and doting older brother, in his senior year of high school when his date fell through to see the Beatles in their first US tour, he took his 10 year old sister Carol.
After high school, Kirk attended Yale University, which held a special place in his heart . where he majored in art history. In the fall of his senior year, he met his wife-to-be Louise Klingel in a calligraphy course. The two were married in June 1969 on Yale’s campus. After graduation, Kirk got his law degree from Columbia. He and Louise then moved to Philadelphia for 6 years where Kirk practiced law at Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius before relocating to San Francisco for 7 years as Kirk practiced law at Itel Corporation. In 1979, Kirk and Louise welcomed son Tyler, followed 4 years later by their daughter Kate. Kirk and his young family then moved across the Bay to Piedmont, California. Kirk continued to practice law and project finance for the next 25 years before he and Louise moved to Santa Fe in 2007.
An athlete all his life, Kirk ran competitive track in high school, was a gymnast in college and played tennis throughout adulthood, but his true passion was skiing. In the 1970s Kirk took up the little-known sport of Ballet Skiing, a perfect sport to blend his gymnastics skills and his downhill skiing prowess. Betamax videos still exist of Kirk performing “helicopter” jumps and dramatic “tip rolls,” all while sporting his vibrant toothy smile. When Kirk and Louise moved to Santa Fe in 2007, Kirk became a ski instructor at the Santa Fe Ski Basin, despite Parkinson’s effect on his skiing abilities. Here, he shared his love of skiing, eagerly coaxing novices down the beginner runs with that same signature smile on his face.
His undergraduate experience at Yale played a lasting role in Kirk's life, one that he wanted for every young person. While head of the Association of Yale Alumni in the Bay Area, Kirk would drive hours to meet one-on-one with highschoolers in rural parts of the state. He wanted to make sure they knew that Yale would welcome and value them. In his time in Santa Fe, Kirk launched a summer internship program for Yale undergraduates to encourage students to explore diverse opportunities in the Southwest. In 2006, Kirk was awarded the Yale Medal for outstanding service to the university and in 2013 published his memoir “. . . And for Yale: Why Bright College Years Never Fade Away.” Boola the dog remained Kirk's loyal bedside companion during the last months of his life.
Friends remember Kirk’s fervor for bringing people together and forging connections among his vast network. At any occasion, Kirk would call upon old friends to connect with new friends, ever weaving his web of good people both wider and tighter. Kirk celebrated his 75th birthday swarmed by his kids and grandkids including his son Tyler's family (wife Shawna, daughter Emiko, age 5, and son Ren, age 2), and daughter Kate's family (wife Kyle, sons Gus and Bailey, age 5, and Rowan, 18 months). In 2019, Kirk and Louise celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their house in Santa Fe, with family and friends from all over the country. The glasses for the occasion read, “Kirk and Louise, Best Friends for Half a Century.”
Those who love Kirk know that these facts hardly describe the eccentric gentleman we’ll miss so much. We’ll remember his routine of neon-clad windsprints on the Piedmont high school track. We’ll remember the unfathomable quantities of chocolate chip ice cream he consumed. We’ll remember his annual birthday handstands, just to prove that he still could. We’ll remember his decades-long devotion to Bob Dylan. Most of all, we’ll remember him vacuuming.
Considering the pandemic, no formal memorial has been planned to celebrate Kirk’s life. Instead, reach out and reconnect with an old friend as Kirk always loved to do.
