Claude Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Claude Kirkpatrick was a diversified businessman who served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives
(1952—1960), worked to establish Toledo Bend Reservoir
through his directorship of the state Department of Public Works
(1960—1964), and was the administrator and then president of Baton Rouge General Medical Center (1967—1982). Kirkpatrick ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1963 Democratic
primary
. In his later years, he built three shopping centers in Baton Rouge. He was also active in various state and national organizations of the Southern Baptist Convention
.
in south Rapides Parish, Louisiana
, to Eugene Kirkpatrick (died 1956) and the former Arlie Gill (died 1981). The senior Kirkpatrick operated a sawmill
in Glenmora and then, when Claude was six years of age, relocated to Lake Charles
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. He was a tie inspector servicing the Louisiana, Texas
, and Arkansas
area for Southern Pacific Railroad
. Claude attended public schools there and graduated in 1934 from Lake Charles High School.
He then enrolled at Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College
in Pineville
and in 1938 received a bachelor of arts
degree in history
. There, Kirkpatrick met his future wife, the former Edith Aurelia Killgore
(born November 14, 1918) of Lisbon
in Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana. They married in 1938 after both graduated from college.
Prior to and during World War II
, Kirkpatrick worked in petroleum
production in Sulphur
in Calcasieu Parish. He twice volunteered for military service but was told to remain in an essential war-related industry. In 1945, the couple moved to Jennings
, the seat of Jeff Davis Parish. There, they operated four businesses: a DeSoto-Plymouth automobile
dealership, a lumber
company, a trucking
firm, and a sporting goods store. The Kirkpatricks had four children: Claude Kent Kirkpatrick (1942-1945), Thomas Killgore Kirkpatrick, I (August 19, 1944–October 13, 2009), Edith Kay Kirkpatrick (born 1946), and Charles Kris Kirkpatrick (born 1948). Both surviving children are attorneys
in Baton Rouge.
Colonel
Thomas Kirkpatrick, an attorney who received a Juris Doctor
degree from Louisiana State University
, began a 30-year military service in 1969 as a private in the United States Army
. He obtained a commission in the Judge Advocate General's Corps
and served four years on active duty, having reached the rank of captain. He joined the Louisiana National Guard
in 1975 and served as a military judge, state judge advocate, and retired commander of the 61st Troop Command. Kirkpatrick also served as general scounsel of the National Guard Association of the United States. His many military citations included Legion of Merit
, Meritorious Service Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze service star, and the Vietnam
Service Medal. After retiring from the private practice of law in Baton Rouge, Kirkpatrick assumed the director's position with the National Guard's Youth Challenge program. His final government service was as general counsel for the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Under Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, he was named the state coordinating officer and alternate Governor's authorized representative for the relief of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita
. Thomas Kirkpatrick, who died of cancer
at the age of sixty-five, was married to the former Sandra Futrell of Pineville and was the father of two children, Thomas Kirkpatrick, II, and Mildred Kathleen Kirkpatrick.Sandra Kirkpatrick's father was P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
, the mayor
of Pineville in the early 1960s and a prominent Baptist layman.
, who in 1963 would be a gubernatorial opponent of Kirkpatrick. In 1956, he again defeated Vallee, who attempted a failed comeback bid. Kirkpatrick did not run for a third legislative term in 1960 and was succeeded by Norman L. Ordoneaux.
In the gubernatorial primaries held between December 1959 and January 1960, the Kirkpatricks worked actively in southwest Louisiana for former Governor Jimmie Davis
, who defeated the mayor
of New Orleans, deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr., in a hotly-contested party runoff election. Davis asked Kirkpatrick to serve as his Director of Public Works to succeed Lorris M. Wimberly
of Arcadia
, the seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, who had once been Speaker
of the Louisiana House. As head of DPW, Kirkpatrick was also chairman of the Red River Authority and the Sabine River Authority. He worked with the State of Texas and without federal funds to establish the popular Toledo Bend Reservoir, a popular destination for fishing
and boating
on the Louisiana-Texas boundary. The project, which emphasizes conservation
and stewardship of natural resources
, was completed in 1966, two years after Kirkpatrick had left DPW.State Representative Cliff Ammons
of Many
, the seat of Sabine Parish
, pushed to passage the bill to create Toledo Bend and the constitutional amendment to provide for its funding.
In the summer of 1960, Kirkpatrick was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in Los Angeles
, which nominated the Kennedy
-Johnson
ticket, an easy winner of the ten electoral votes in Louisiana. Kirkpatrick was Democrat for the rest of his life even as his state developed a two-party system
. Political records show that he donated in 1979 to the last campaign of U.S. Senator Russell B. Long
of Louisiana.
In 1963, Kirkpatrick ran for governor as an "independent" within the Democratic primary, meaning that he was not affiliated with any particular faction of the party though he had been on close terms with outgoing Governor Davis.He polled only 28,578 votes (3.2 percent), seventh in a ten-candidate field. To head DPW, the new governor, John McKeithen
, formerly a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
, named Leon J. Gary, Sr., a former mayor
of Houma
, the seat of Terrebonne Parish
Similarly, Tom Sawyer, later the chief executive officer of the hospital, described Krkpatrick as "very compassionate [with] a great empathy for people, and he really loved hispital work. . . . He viewed his job as more of a ministry than a job. That was the kind of outlook he had on things."
After leaving the hospital position, Kirkpatrick established three shopping centers in Baton Rouge: Delmont, Highland Road, and Drusilla. Over the years, Kirkpatrick was Southwest Louisiana vice president of the Calcasieu Area Boy Scouts
. He was active in the United Way charitable fund, the Kiwanis Club, and the American Heart Association
. He was a deacon
in several Baptist
churches for fifty-eight years, his last membership having been at First Baptist in Baton Rouge. He and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were active in all aspects of Baptist church governance and outreach. He was a past chairman and member of the Louisiana College board of directors. He served on the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Board. In Baton Rouge, he was the first president of the Federation of Churches and Synagogue
s as well as a charter member there of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick studied for a time at the Juilliard School
in New York City
and much later obtained a master of arts
degree in music
from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. At times, she taught voice music at both LSU and McNeese State University
in Lake Charles. At the invitation of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, she served from 1977-1989 on the Louisiana Board of Regents
, a panel created by the Louisiana State Constitution of 1974 to govern public higher education institutions.
During the 1963 gubernatorial campaign, Mrs. Kirkpatrick published a 38-page song book entitled Louisiana Let's Sing, a collection of favorite songs ranging from The Star-Spangled Banner
to Jingle Bells
compiled especially for her husband.
Kirkpatrick died in the Baton Rouge General Hospital that he had once managed, having earlier underwent five heart
bypasses
. He is interred in Green Oaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge. In addition to his wife and three living children, Kirkpatrick was survived by a brother, G. Truett Kirkpatrick (1921-2007) of Lake Charles, and five grandchildren. Another brother, Augustus C. Kirkpatrick (1914-1996) of Lake Charles was the former Calcasieu Parish assessor
. After Kirkpatrick's death, Mrs. Kirkpatrick deposited her husband's papers on request at McNeese State University.
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
(1952—1960), worked to establish Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir is a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. The lake has an area of 185,000 acres , the largest man-made body of water in Texas, the largest in the South, and the fifth largest in the United States. The dam is capable of generating 92 megawatts of...
through his directorship of the state Department of Public Works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
(1960—1964), and was the administrator and then president of Baton Rouge General Medical Center (1967—1982). Kirkpatrick ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1963 Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. In his later years, he built three shopping centers in Baton Rouge. He was also active in various state and national organizations of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
.
Early years, education, family
Kirkpatrick (who had no middle name) was born in GlenmoraGlenmora, Louisiana
Glenmora is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,558 at the 2000 census....
in south Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, to Eugene Kirkpatrick (died 1956) and the former Arlie Gill (died 1981). The senior Kirkpatrick operated a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
in Glenmora and then, when Claude was six years of age, relocated to Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. He was a tie inspector servicing the Louisiana, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
area for Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. Claude attended public schools there and graduated in 1934 from Lake Charles High School.
He then enrolled at Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
and in 1938 received a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. There, Kirkpatrick met his future wife, the former Edith Aurelia Killgore
Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick
Edith Aurelia Killgore Kirkpatrick is a retired music educator from Baton Rouge who served on the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education from 1977—1989, the superboard which must approve education budgets presented to the state legislature. She is also a former member of the...
(born November 14, 1918) of Lisbon
Lisbon, Louisiana
Lisbon is a village in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 162 at the 2000 census. Lisbon is located east of the parish seat of Homer....
in Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana. They married in 1938 after both graduated from college.
Prior to and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kirkpatrick worked in petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
production in Sulphur
Sulphur, Louisiana
Sulphur is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 22,512 at the 2000 census. Sulphur is a suburb of Lake Charles, and is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Calcasieu Parish. He twice volunteered for military service but was told to remain in an essential war-related industry. In 1945, the couple moved to Jennings
Jennings, Louisiana
Jennings is a small city in and the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,986 at the 2000 census....
, the seat of Jeff Davis Parish. There, they operated four businesses: a DeSoto-Plymouth automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
dealership, a lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
company, a trucking
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
firm, and a sporting goods store. The Kirkpatricks had four children: Claude Kent Kirkpatrick (1942-1945), Thomas Killgore Kirkpatrick, I (August 19, 1944–October 13, 2009), Edith Kay Kirkpatrick (born 1946), and Charles Kris Kirkpatrick (born 1948). Both surviving children are attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Baton Rouge.
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Thomas Kirkpatrick, an attorney who received a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
, began a 30-year military service in 1969 as a private in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He obtained a commission in the Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
and served four years on active duty, having reached the rank of captain. He joined the Louisiana National Guard
Louisiana National Guard
The Louisiana National Guard consists of the:*Louisiana Army National Guard** includes the U.S. 256th Infantry Brigade*Louisiana Air National Guard-External links:*** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
in 1975 and served as a military judge, state judge advocate, and retired commander of the 61st Troop Command. Kirkpatrick also served as general scounsel of the National Guard Association of the United States. His many military citations included Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, Meritorious Service Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze service star, and the Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
Service Medal. After retiring from the private practice of law in Baton Rouge, Kirkpatrick assumed the director's position with the National Guard's Youth Challenge program. His final government service was as general counsel for the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Under Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, he was named the state coordinating officer and alternate Governor's authorized representative for the relief of Hurricanes Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
. Thomas Kirkpatrick, who died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of sixty-five, was married to the former Sandra Futrell of Pineville and was the father of two children, Thomas Kirkpatrick, II, and Mildred Kathleen Kirkpatrick.Sandra Kirkpatrick's father was P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
Perry Elmo Futrell, Jr. , was a real estate appraiser who served from 1962-1966 as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Pineville, located east of the Red River across from Alexandria in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana.Futrell was born in Pollock in Grant Parish north of Pineville to Perry...
, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Pineville in the early 1960s and a prominent Baptist layman.
Political activities
In 1952, Kirkpatrick unseated State Representative Marion Vallee (1910-1997) of Jeff Davis Parish in the Democratic primary. He served his first term during the administration of Governor Robert F. KennonRobert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, who in 1963 would be a gubernatorial opponent of Kirkpatrick. In 1956, he again defeated Vallee, who attempted a failed comeback bid. Kirkpatrick did not run for a third legislative term in 1960 and was succeeded by Norman L. Ordoneaux.
In the gubernatorial primaries held between December 1959 and January 1960, the Kirkpatricks worked actively in southwest Louisiana for former Governor Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
, who defeated the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New Orleans, deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr., in a hotly-contested party runoff election. Davis asked Kirkpatrick to serve as his Director of Public Works to succeed Lorris M. Wimberly
Lorris M. Wimberly
Lorris May Wimberly, Sr. , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1928–1940 and again from 1948-1956. A native and resident of Arcadia, the seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Wimberly was House Speaker from 1936–1940, 1950–1952, and from May 14-July 10, 1956...
of Arcadia
Arcadia, Louisiana
Arcadia is a town in and the parish seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,041 at the 2000 census....
, the seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, who had once been Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Louisiana House. As head of DPW, Kirkpatrick was also chairman of the Red River Authority and the Sabine River Authority. He worked with the State of Texas and without federal funds to establish the popular Toledo Bend Reservoir, a popular destination for fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
on the Louisiana-Texas boundary. The project, which emphasizes conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
and stewardship of natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
, was completed in 1966, two years after Kirkpatrick had left DPW.State Representative Cliff Ammons
Cliff Ammons
Clifton R. Ammons , known as Cliff Ammons, was an educator and businessman from Many, Louisiana, who served from 1960-1964 as a Democrat from Sabine Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives...
of Many
Many, Louisiana
Many is a town in and the parish seat of Sabine Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,889 at the 2000 census. The town was named for John B. Many, the commander of nearby Fort Jesup.-History:...
, the seat of Sabine Parish
Sabine Parish, Louisiana
Sabine Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Many. In 2010, the parish's population was 24,233....
, pushed to passage the bill to create Toledo Bend and the constitutional amendment to provide for its funding.
In the summer of 1960, Kirkpatrick was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, which nominated the Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
-Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
ticket, an easy winner of the ten electoral votes in Louisiana. Kirkpatrick was Democrat for the rest of his life even as his state developed a two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
. Political records show that he donated in 1979 to the last campaign of U.S. Senator Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
of Louisiana.
In 1963, Kirkpatrick ran for governor as an "independent" within the Democratic primary, meaning that he was not affiliated with any particular faction of the party though he had been on close terms with outgoing Governor Davis.He polled only 28,578 votes (3.2 percent), seventh in a ten-candidate field. To head DPW, the new governor, John McKeithen
John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
, formerly a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
, named Leon J. Gary, Sr., a former mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
, the seat of Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Terrebonne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860...
Later years and legacy
Kirkpatrick left the political arena and became associated with Allied Chemical and Superior Oil companies. On August 14, 1967, the trustees of Baptist-affiliated Baton Rouge General Hospital named Kirkpatrick as hospital administrator. He was elevated to president of the hospital in 1970 and served in that capacity until 1981. Dr. Charles Prosser, a fellow hospital director and friend of Kirkpatrick's, recalled him as "a man of many talents and a most affable fellow who got things done by impressing people with their importance and worth. He . . . did a splendid job . . . and that says a lot about him as a person."Similarly, Tom Sawyer, later the chief executive officer of the hospital, described Krkpatrick as "very compassionate [with] a great empathy for people, and he really loved hispital work. . . . He viewed his job as more of a ministry than a job. That was the kind of outlook he had on things."
After leaving the hospital position, Kirkpatrick established three shopping centers in Baton Rouge: Delmont, Highland Road, and Drusilla. Over the years, Kirkpatrick was Southwest Louisiana vice president of the Calcasieu Area Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. He was active in the United Way charitable fund, the Kiwanis Club, and the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
. He was a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in several Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches for fifty-eight years, his last membership having been at First Baptist in Baton Rouge. He and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were active in all aspects of Baptist church governance and outreach. He was a past chairman and member of the Louisiana College board of directors. He served on the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Board. In Baton Rouge, he was the first president of the Federation of Churches and Synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s as well as a charter member there of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
The International Fellowship of Christians & Jews , founded by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein in 1983 under its original name of the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews, is a worldwide organization whose stated goal is "to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians and to...
.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick studied for a time at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and much later obtained a master of arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. At times, she taught voice music at both LSU and McNeese State University
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the United States. Founded in 1939 as a junior college, McNeese experienced growth due to economic activity in the region. It adopted its present name in 1970....
in Lake Charles. At the invitation of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, she served from 1977-1989 on the Louisiana Board of Regents
Louisiana Board of Regents
The Louisiana Board of Regents is a government agency in the U.S. state of Louisiana that is responsible for coordination of all public higher education in the state...
, a panel created by the Louisiana State Constitution of 1974 to govern public higher education institutions.
During the 1963 gubernatorial campaign, Mrs. Kirkpatrick published a 38-page song book entitled Louisiana Let's Sing, a collection of favorite songs ranging from The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
to Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
compiled especially for her husband.
Kirkpatrick died in the Baton Rouge General Hospital that he had once managed, having earlier underwent five heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
bypasses
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
. He is interred in Green Oaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge. In addition to his wife and three living children, Kirkpatrick was survived by a brother, G. Truett Kirkpatrick (1921-2007) of Lake Charles, and five grandchildren. Another brother, Augustus C. Kirkpatrick (1914-1996) of Lake Charles was the former Calcasieu Parish assessor
Assessor (property)
An assessor is a specialist who calculates the value of property. The value calculated by the assessor is then used as the basis for determining the amounts to be paid or assessed for tax or insurance purposes....
. After Kirkpatrick's death, Mrs. Kirkpatrick deposited her husband's papers on request at McNeese State University.