George Richard Shirk's Obituary
George Shirk, who died Thursday of a heart attack at 64, was a giant in the sports writing business. He wrote and reported with distinction, but it was his presence — his worldly nature, incisive sense of humor and ribald hints of the contrarian — that set him apart. He moved to the Bay Area to cover the Giants for the San Jose Mercury News in 1985, but he was an NBA lifer at heart, dating to his days covering the Philadelphia 76ers of Julius Erving and Moses Malone, and The Chronicle hired him to cover the Warriors in ’87. Some memories: Long before most people knew anything about the Internet, Shirk was talking about “the World Wide Web” and how it would change the world. During the 1989-90 season, he traveled with a Groucho Marx disguise and asked notable NBA figures if they’d pose in it. I picked up one of my old photo albums to discover Don Nelson, Garry St. Jean, Chris Mullin and Earl Strom, perhaps the greatest referee of them all, going Groucho (if Commissioner David Stern had been around, he would have obliged; everyone knew and admired Shirk). When longtime NBA coach Jack McMahon died at 60, Shirkappeared at the memorial service and delivered a passionate, 12-minute tribute to the man who “taught me about basketball, about traveling, about loyalty and, more than anything, how to live.” I see George now, clad in a black leather jacket, boarding his full-scale motorcycle and hitting the highway. May his delightfully iconoclastic ways continue, into eternity.(Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle)
George Richard Shirk was born on June 3, 1952 in Oelwein, Iowa. George was a resident of Mammoth Lakes, California. Shirk is survived by his daughter, Kate Gandee of Delaware, Ohio; his son, Richard Shirk, of Oakland; his first wife, Dr. Becky Graham; his second wife, Jean Shirk, of Oakland; his sister, Susan Hopkins, of Lexington, Kentucky; grandchildren Matthew, Jonathan, and Patrick Gandee; nephew, Riley George Shirk; niece, Mary Miracle; and stepbrother John McEvoy.
He was a reporter for the Des Moines Register, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, with a primary emphasis on his lifelong passion for sports, specifically for the Iowa Hawkeyes, NBA basketball, and the Golden State Warriors.
He was one of two journalists who started SFGate.com, one of the news business’s first forays into the digital age.
After starting SFGate.com, he became editor-in-chief of Wired.com, and later, when he moved to Mammoth in 2002, he became the founder and editor of Mammoth Monthly, a quirky, literate, lifestyle magazine that went on to be nominated for the prestigious MAGGIE magazine awards. As of late, Shirk was a reporter with the Mammother Times.
His family asks that, in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the following Animal Rescue Organizations.
For the East Bay/Bay Area:
Friends of Oakland Animal Services (not simply Oakland Animal Services):
http://www.oaklandanimalservices.org/how-to-help/donate/
Friends of Oakland Animal Services
P.O. Box 3132
Oakland, CA 94609
[email protected]
510-225-3992
For Mammoth/The Eastern Sierra:
iCARE (Inyo/Mono County Animal Resources and Education):
http://icareforpets.org/index.html (General info)
http://icareforpets.org/MakeaDifference.html (To donate)
ICARE
P.O. Box 76
Bishop, CA 93515
760-872-3802
[email protected]
For Mammoth/The Eastern Sierra:
iCARE (Inyo/Mono County Animal Resources and Education):
http://icareforpets.org/index.html (General info)
http://icareforpets.org/MakeaDifference.html (To donate)
What’s your fondest memory of George?
What’s a lesson you learned from George?
Share a story where George's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with George you’ll never forget.
How did George make you smile?