Deacon Steve Kirts remembered for chaplaincy, humor and service

Intermountain Catholic

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Father David Van Massenhove, pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish, blesses Deacon Steve Kirts' coffin during the funeral Mass, which was concelebrated by the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City (left) and Jesuit Father Paul J. McCarthy, the parish's parochial vicar (right), among other diocesan priests. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SANDY — Deacon Steve Kirts, whose 30 years as a deacon included service at several parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City and as a law enforcement chaplain, was honored at a funeral Mass Nov. 4 at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church, where he was assigned as deacon in 1987.

Deacon Kirts died of cancer Oct. 27. He was 65.

He was ordained a deacon June 6, 1981 by the Most Rev. William K. Weigand, the seventh Bishop of Salt Lake City, in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the same parish in which he was baptized. As a deacon, his first assignment was to Saint Francis of Xavier Parish in Kearns. He also began as a chaplain for the West Valley City Police Department in 1981, an assignment he continued until his death.

"He served right to the end, literally right to the end," said West Valley City Police Chief Thayne Nielsen. "You couldn’t ask for an individual that gave more than Steve Kirts did."

Deacon Kirts was one of the chaplains who served the city’s dispatch center and fire department, as well as the police officers.

"The biggest aspect for us was the work that they also did with our officers who were involved with traumatic situations," Nielsen said. "Even the death of a child in a violent way can affect officers and Steve and the other chaplains were there to help and console and to properly direct those emotions."

In 1998, Deacon Kirts extended his service as a chaplain to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department, now part of the Unified Police Department.

"We’re honored to be here today because he donated a significant amount of his time and life to our organization to help the citizens of Salt Lake County," said Capt. Don Hutson of the Unified Police Department, which, with the West Valley City PD, provided an honor guard and motorcycle escort for the funeral.

Deacon Kirts was honored with a Certificate of Achievement from the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office in 1999. That same year he was presented with a Meritorious Service Award from the West Valley City PD. In 2001 he was named by the Utah Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Services for the Emergency Team Incident of the Year, and he was a member of the Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Corps that was honored in 2004.

"Despite the heavy crosses he bore, he was a man of great faith and hope and optimism, and he loved life," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, during his comments at the funeral Mass.