Rene Christopher Kirby, age 70, of Harrison Avenue in Burlington, died on Friday, July 11, 2025, at the University of Vermont Medical Center following a short illness.
Rene was born on February 27, 1955, in Burlington, the son of Donald E. Kirby and Janet M. Bourget Kirby. He was a graduate of the Burlington High School class of 1975. Rene was employed at IBM for 13 years and spent many years as a motivational speaker for “differently abled” people. He excelled at gymnastics, skiing, car restorations and coin collecting. He loved hunting, fishing and anything that someone said he couldn’t do.
He is survived by his mother, Janet; brothers, Ric of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Daryl (Diana) of Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Jon (Julia) of Burlington; sisters, Donna (Stuart) Porter of The Villages, Fla., Cheryl St. Amour of Burlington and Jean (Ron) Sweeney of Burlington; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and great-nieces and -nephews. He was predeceased by his father, Donald, in 2022.
Memorial services will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Ready Funeral Home South Chapel, 261 Shelburne Rd., Burlington. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation. A one-time or monthly donation can be made in his honor.
Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To share online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.
This article appears in The Connections Issue.