Robert Bruce Kirkwood

Robert Bruce Kirkwood was born August 7, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. He died peacefully on January 7, 2016 in the Highland Manor Nursing Home in Neil’s Harbour, Canada. In 1962 Bob and his mother moved back to the old family home in Friendship, Wisconsin. He graduated from Adams-Friendship High School in Adams, Wisconsin. He was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War for which he experienced considerable grief. He operated a silver smelting business. He built his own small blast furnace, got silver from x-ray films and smelted it to .9999 purity, the highest grade and in which he took pride. His fondness for Canada was enhanced when he helped a friend build a cabin in the Yukon. Then, in the late 1990s after his mother died, he bought a home in the South Haven section of Baddeck, Nova Scotia where he was able to celebrate his Scottish ancestry. He was very active in community affairs such as festivals. As he had done in Friendship, Bob was especially attentive to the needs of the elderly, driving people to doctor’s appointments, running errands and helping out. He was a fixture at the Baddeck Public Library. Funeral arrangements are being handled by MacAskill’s Funeral Home, Baddeck, Nova Scotia. His funeral service will be Wednesday, January 13, at 11 AM. It will be held at the Ephraim Scott Presbyterian Church in South Haven. There will be visitation that morning at 10 AM with a reception following at the South Haven Community Hall. A Memorial gathering will be held at a later date.