Kent Dee Zirker

Kent D. Zirker passed away to the sound of a favorite Christmas carol in the early morning hours of December 24, 2025. He wasn’t a man of many words and he had a preference for doing things his own way. He enjoyed a nice Ford Mustang, a good Louis L’Amour book, and sitting on the back deck under the light of a Coleman lantern. He slept with the window open no matter the weather and preferred the comfort of home over just about any other place.

Kent was born on March 20, 1950, in Roosevelt, Utah. His parents, Kenneth Eugene Zirker and Leona Sager Shields Zirker, raised their family on a farm in Warden, WA. The farm and community taught him the value of hard work alongside family and friends. He was active in Scouting, band, and Future Farmers of America. As a teenager he learned the importance of bringing the family car home on time after once leaving his dad with no other alternative but to drive a tractor to work. A lover of the 60s muscle cars, he and some friends once painted a quarter mile drag strip on a local section of highway.

As a college student studying agronomy at Brigham Young University, Kent emulated his big screen idols. He drove a fast Ford like the King of Cool Steve McQueen and wore harness cowboy boots like the Spaghetti Western star Clint Eastwood. Kent served a religious mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong from 1969-71, and he always remembered enough Cantonese to remind his family that “true gold is not afraid of the hot fire, just as the rock lion is not afraid of the falling rain.”

While at BYU, Kent met California girl Martha Backlund and the two were married on June 13, 1973, in the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ. They made their homes in Provo, UT; Quincy, Zillah, and Warden, WA; and spent his remaining 39 years in Moscow, ID. Kent started his career in the sugar beet fields of the Columbia Basin; later worked for Asgrow Seed Co. in Warden and Genesse, ID; and finished the last 20 years of his career as a facilities manager for the Church.

Kent and Martha raised six children in Moscow where they attended their share of sporting events, band concerts, and Boy Scout activities. He taught his children to work hard, be honest, and enjoy a good maple bar after Saturday morning paper routes. Kent had an eye for choosing good scout leaders in their local church congregation, and Camp Grizzly was the standard by which all other scout camps were measured. He remained active in Scouting for many years, serving as the Eagle Scout District Advancement Chairman and earning the prestigious Silver Beaver Award. He loved camping with his family, and like any good camper, knew exactly which site was the best one for a quiet weekend at Laird Park.

Life for Kent included family, work, vacations, and Church service. He and Martha were particularly proud of their time spent leading a Church-sponsored addiction recovery group in Moscow, an experience that taught him as much as it taught the participants. In his retired years, he enjoyed hobbies, spent time with close friends, and visited family. Long drives (no flying!) to visit Brant in Denver, Erik in Boston, Kevin or Matt in Post Falls, Travis in Washington, DC, or Lacey in Seattle allowed him to see the country and experience its history. Kent was quietly generous and a mentor and example to many young people. He loved history, trains, coins, researching his own family history, and he had a soft spot for YouTube channels about cars, history, and farming (especially if the presenter was a bit of a curmudgeon).

Wherever he went, Kent knew that Moscow was home. He preferred the quiet, predictable pace of life, he enjoyed a close circle of friends and family, and he made sure to take frequent drives around town to check on new construction projects so he could keep his family up to date. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 52 years, Martha; his six children and 29 grandchildren; siblings Eugene Zirker (Janice) Dubuque, IA; Brenda Zirker Richards (Charles) Moscow, ID; and Tami Zirker, Roosevelt, UT; and a large group of extended family and friends.

A viewing will be held from 3:00-6:00pm, Thursday, January 1, 2026 at Short's Funeral Chapel, 1225 E. 6th Street, Moscow. Funeral services will be at 11:00am, Friday, January 2, 2026 at the LDS Meetinghouse at 1657 S. Blaine Street, Moscow. Internment will take place at 11:30am, Monday, January 5, 2026 at Moscow Cemetery.

The funeral service will be available through Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/98669027489?pwd=Q0FaVmR3emNyY0NJVVo5cFRCQkdTUT09