Raymond "Ray" Kirke, 72, Harrisonville, MO, died Friday, November 5, 2010 at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, MO. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, November 8, 2010 at White Chapel Cemetery in Gladstone, MO. Friends may call 5:00-7:00 p.m. Sunday, November 7 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Harrisonville. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Savior Lutheran Church Altar Fund, 2800 East Mechanic Street, Harrisonville, MO 64701.

Ray was born June 25, 1938 in Omaha, NE, the son of Nathan and Helen (Hahn) Kirke. He lived in Omaha and was a 1956 graduate of Central High School in Omaha and attended the University of Omaha. Ray served in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam War and was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood. He married Katherine Ann Rosel on May 23, 1964 in Omaha. He lived in Gladstone for 21 years before moving to Harrisonville in 2005.

Ray refereed high school football and basketball and went on to referee college football and basketball for the Missouri Valley Conference, retiring in 1999. Ray worked for various food brokers in the Midwest, retiring as a regional sales manager from O. & E. Brokerage in St. Louis, MO in 2008. Ray was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Harrisonville. He was a lifelong "Husker" fan.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Jeffrey R. Kirke, twin brother of Jonathan. He is survived by his wife, Katherine, of the home; one son, Jonathan P. Kirke, Harrisonville, MO; one daughter, Jennifer A. Thomas and her husband, Kevin, Harrisonville, MO; two brothers, Larry Kirke and his wife, Cheryl, Kansas City, MO and Marvin Kirke and his wife, Hedy, Omaha, NE and four grandchildren.