Thomas Kent Kirk

Thomas Kent Kirk, 84, of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, died peacefully on Sunday, February 23, 2025, surrounded by his daughters. Kent was born on October 13, 1940, in Minden, Louisiana, the son of William Thomas and Wilda Inez (Gilstrap) Kirk. He married his high school sweetheart, Bettye Kay (Easley), and they had three daughters: Sharon, Kathy and Sandra. Kent later married Celeste Madeline Hanson, and Celeste’s daughter Katie became his fourth daughter.

Kent was raised in Natchitoches, Louisiana, a small town surrounded by pine forests. Education and traveling the world were priorities. He graduated with degrees in forestry and plant pathology before earning a doctorate in biochemistry and plant pathology from North Carolina State University. He completed a post-doctorate position in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1970, and then returned to the United States with his family to begin work for the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, WI, where he worked for more than 25 years.

In 1975, Kent married the love of his life, Celeste. Kent and Celeste traveled the world together, including spending a year living in Kyoto, Japan, where Kent continued his work on lignin degradation in collaboration with the university there.

Through his hard work and collaboration with international colleagues, Kent (Dr. T. Kent Kirk) became a global leader in understanding the microbiological degradation of lignin, a main chemical component in wood, and the cell walls of all woody plants. His research at the USDA has aided in the clean-up of wastewater and other byproducts of timber processing.

He wrote more than 200 papers and won numerous awards for his research, including the prestigious Marcus Wallenberg Prize in 1985 with his colleague and long-time collaborator, Karl-Erik Eriksson, of Sweden. The Wallenberg Prize is the highest award in the field of forestry and is colloquially called the "Nobel Prize for Forestry."

Kent retired early from the USDA Forest Products Lab in 1996. He then worked for several years at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the National Research Council for the National Academy of Sciences.

In 1988, Kent was elected Member Emeritus to the National Academy of Sciences. He espoused the idea that a willingness to embrace and develop new techniques was a vital approach for all scientists.

Kent and Celeste found relaxation and rejuvenation during many vacations in the Caribbean. It would become their favorite escape, and Kent would continue traveling to the Caribbean after Celeste’s untimely passing in 1998, finding a peace and tranquility on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John.

An avid woodworker, Kent’s retirement allowed him time to become a master designer and craftsman furnishing his own home with his creations and building beautiful, special-order pieces for each of his daughters. He also took French lessons and even researched, wrote, and published a guide Tropical Trees of Florida and the Virgin Islands (Pineapple Press) in 2009 to honor one of his favorite places on earth.

Inspired by his great love of family, Kent adorned his home with photos of loved ones, and his library includes carefully curated photo albums capturing his most precious memories.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife. Surviving are brothers Benjamin T. Kirk (Billie, Bush, LA) and James D. Kirk (Cathi, Woodworth, LA). Also surviving: daughters Sharon Denise Kirk (Robert Berry, deceased, Petaluma, CA); Deborah Katherine (Kathy) Kirk (Madison, WI); Sandra Kay Proulx (Allen, Sauk City, WI) and Kathryn (Katie) Elizabeth Scullion (Jeff Weeks, Jacksonville, IL); grandchildren Riley Kent Knudson, Austen Anna Schultz, Raleigh Andrew Berry, Kellen Thomas Weeks and Hailey Celeste Weeks; and two great-grandsons.

A celebration of Kent’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on June 7, 2025, at First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, in Madison, WI. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Forest History Society foresthistory.org or The National Academy of Sciences nasonline.org.