Kenneth L Kirkland

Kenneth L. Kirkland, Cocoa Beach, FL. Ken, 83, entered into the presence of the Lord, on April 28th, while at home. His life was full, engaging, joyous, and full of deep, generous love for his children, their spouses, his grandchildren, parents, brother and sisters, cousins, friends and most of all for his beloved wife, Charleen. Born on September 28, 1932, Ken was raised in Anderson S.C. by his loving parents, Remus C. and Grace A. Kirkland. Upon graduation from high school, Ken served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, serving in the Counter Intelligence Corp (CIC) as a Sergeant, First Class, receiving the Korean Service Medal with 4 Bronze Stars. After his tour of duty, Ken returned home, graduated in three years from Clemson University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and started his career at Pratt & Whitney in New Haven, Connecticut, where he met his lifelong love, Charleen J. Bartlett of Fairhaven, Vermont. They moved to West Palm Beach, Florida where Ken began testing the new propulsion system for the SR-71 spy plane, and started their family. Ken's aerospace career continued with test and production of the RL-10, the free world's first liquid hydrogen rocket engine utilized on the Atlas-Centaur rockets. Ken's career continued, moving to Cocoa Beach in 1967, working on the Saturn V first stage engines for Boeing at the Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo lunar program until its completion. Ken then joined the Canaveral Port Authority as the resident engineer, developing the North side of Port Canaveral supporting the expansion of cruise and commercial industries and the Triton submarine turn basin. His love of aerospace returned Ken to KSC as a lead engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Group, Rocketdyne, as well as the Atlas and Delta rockets until his retirement. Ken's life revolved around his family, work and church. Ken was a devout and involved parishioner at Our Saviour's Catholic Church, regarded one of the finest Bereavement ministers. He served on the Parish Council and School Board, was a Lector, and sang base in the choir. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Charleen, son Brian, daughter-in-law Amy, daughter Laurie, son-in-law Keith, daughter Anne Marie, daughter Mary, sisters Jean and Glenna, and grandchildren Brian, Alexandra, Victoria, Mikayla, Michael, Travis, Charlie, and Olivia. There will be a viewing from 6pm - 8pm at Our Saviour's Catholic Church on Friday, May 6th. A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at Our Saviour's Catholic Church on Saturday, May 7th, 11am, followed by burial in the Memorial Garden. A reception will follow in the Our Saviour's Catholic School gym. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ken Kirkland's memory to the Our Saviour's Catholic School Scholarship Fund and VITAS Healthcare, Central Florida Hospice, 4450 W. Eau Gallie Blvd, Ste. 250, Melbourne, FL 32934. You may sign Ken's guestbook at www.beckman-williamson.com Viewing MAY 6. 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM Church of Our Saviour 5301 N. Atlantic Avenue Cocoa Beach, FL, US Mass Of Christian Burial MAY 7. 11:00 AM Church Of Our Saviour Catholic Church 5301 North Atlantic Avenue Cocoa Beach, FL, US, 32931