Edward Aaron Kirby

Edward Aaron Kirby passed away on January 29, 2024, at home in Terre Haute, Indiana. Ed was born in Champaign, Illinois and earned both his Undergraduate and his Doctorate degrees from the University of Southern Illinois, Carbondale. His Masters was conferred from the University of Illinois.

Ed began his professional teaching career at Eureka College and then moved to Indiana State University in the Educational and School Psychology Department where he earned full professor status. He started the CAS program in the VCSC and surrounding districts and authored several books on ADHD. He most enjoyed training future school psychologists to think outside the box. He served as President of the Indiana Psychological Association.

Edward is survived by his wife of nearly 18 years, Michele, his daughters Jennifer (Giacomo) Di Franco of Noblesville, IN; Ellen Kirby of Santa Monica, CA; Molly (Jason) Kuykendall of Oconomowoc, WI and Katie (Alex) Poole of Terre Haute, IN., as well as his seven grandchildren: Alex, Tanner and Hudson Kuykendall; Emma Kate Poole; and Jake, Sam and Lucy Steinhofer. Surviving siblings include Dennis (Patricia) Kirby of Bonville, Illinois; Marcia (Mike) Ashby of Champaign, Illinois; and Vernon (Susan) Kirby of Front Royal, Virginia. He was predeceased by his first wife Sandra, his sisters Wanda McDaniel, Bea Ellis and Janice Marmion.

Raised in a musical family, he learned guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin and sang and played with the group Blue Ridge Country. Travel was a passion he shared with his family and train travel was his favorite. Ed was an avid runner completing the Chicago and Boston Marathons multiple times. He enjoyed camping, fishing, boating, gardening and reading. He built two cabins and a pond that provided continuous projects.

A memorial bench will be placed at Deming Park’s Snow Hill for all to sit upon and contemplate the greatness of this world. “I was happy, I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize - sometimes with astonishment - how happy we had been.”― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek.