Apr. 16, 2014:  Frank William Van Kirk, son of the late Jay Calvin Van Kirk and Eunice Morgan Van Kirk and a native of New Orleans, died March 19, 2014. He was 88 years old.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife of fifty years, Marie Stouse Van Kirk, and is survived by his seven children, Kathleen Marie Van Kirk, Jay C. Van Kirk II (Lois), Frank William Van Kirk, Jr. (Jamie), Mark de la Ronde Van Kirk (Alice), Yvonne Renshaw Van Kirk, Evan Morgan Van Kirk (Melia), and Timothy Stouse Van Kirk (Julie), twenty-three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, his wife, Signa Charbonnet Coiron Van Kirk, his stepchildren, George A. Coiron, III (Mara), Michele Swartz (Jesse), Signa Lamothe (Frank), John Coiron (Carol), and Pierre Coiron (Julie), and six step-grandchildren. 

He was a graduate of Isidore Newman School and Tulane University. He served as a naval officer in World War II and the Korean War. His career began with his entry into the cotton business as a commodities trader on the floor of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange with Merrill Lynch. Later, he became a partner with the firm of Thomas Jordan & Co. and eventually founded his own firm, Van Kirk & Co. 

As the possible demise of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange loomed, he moved his family to Bronxville and later moved into the securities business as an officer with E. F. Hutton. As a member of the New York Stock Exchange, he represented Hutton on the trading floor as a broker for more than twenty years. 

He retired in 1987 and along with his wife, Marie, settled in Covington. He was a member of the Boston Club and had previously been a member of several carnival organizations.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Salvation Army or the Little Sisters of the Poor.