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 Road,
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 the Ready Funeral and Cremation Services. To share
online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.