Jay Lee Kirk

Jay Kirk was born Suzuki Hideo on May 18th,1949 in Yokosuka Japan. He passed away after a short illness in Billings, MT on November 15, 2024. He was raised by his mother, Taki Suzuki, until he was about three and a half years of age. At that time, she made the decision to place him at the Elizabeth Saunders Orphanage in Oiso, Japan. This residence had the mission of caring for children of mixed-race parents and was instrumental in caring for children of U.S. servicemen that had served in Japan. These children were highly ostracized in the war years, and it was fortunate that Jay was able to live there as a young child.

He was sponsored to be re-located to the United States by a group of concerned American citizens that were working with the Protestant Church in Japan and with the Elizabeth Saunders home. He arrived in the U.S. in 1956 and lived with several foster/adoptive families including Harry/Edith Sargent Cross in Connecticut, Pauline/Lou Mahle in Massachusetts, and Jeffrey/Elsie Kirk in Abington, Pennsylvania.

Jay considered the Philadelphia area to be his home, and he lived there from his teenage years through mid-adulthood. He served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. He worked in a chaplaincy and education setting for service person's families at that time. It was there in Germany where he discovered his gifts for helping others and encouraging students to build and nurture relationships through recreation and activities. He attended college at Temple University until he moved to Norristown, PA for a work opportunity.

It was in Norristown that he met the love of his life, Trish Pust, as she had moved there to complete an internship at the end of her collegiate years. They were two helper/social work types of people and saw the world through much of the same lens in their vocation and working lives. Jay and Trish were married in Billings in 1986 and had 37 years of happiness together.

Jay was an avid bowler, golfer and gardener through his many years. He truly loved his career and his position with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention arm of the Fort Peck Tribes. He was able to provide mental health counseling, mentor several staff members that he had supervised, and also spend a 'fair amount of his time working with children and adolescents involved with school, recreational activities and Tribal activities' while at Poplar, MT. Trish fondly remembers one summer when he and a co-worker took the Bow and Arrow Club to participate in the Big Sky State Games in Billings. He loved this event, and told Trish, "Next year, we're going to do this on horseback!"

Jay is survived by his immediate family, wife Trish and child Jayson. He is dearly remembered by siblings from his early life, Gwen Romagnoli, Ellen Crompton and George Cross. Jay was a treasured member of Trish's family that includes siblings, Stevie and Randy Schmitz, Jancee and Rick Marcone, Tammy Pust, Lee and Bill Coffee, Dave Pust, Kyle and Marguerite Pust, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM, November 30th, 2024 at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. There will be a live stream of the funeral available at the church's website.

If so inclined, memorials may be made to the following:

HPDP Creative Arts Studio, c/o Jessica Spotted Bull P.O. Box 1098 Poplar MT, 59255 or

Elizabeth Saunders Home     Oiso , Kanagawa Japan