Glen Ray Kirkpatrick

Glen Ray Kirkpatrick, a lifelong traveler, quietly left his home in Kingsley on Monday, August 10, 2026, at the age of 77 for yet another journey.

Glen was born and raised in Traverse City, Michigan, and spent much of his childhood exploring around the Kirkpatricks’ stone house on River Road. He was a bit of a childhood prankster, once offering to prepare dinner for his mother just to serve her a rubber hotdog purchased from a joke book. He formed lasting friendships with his high school pals, playing guitar, two-tracking, and camping. Glen’s friend Bob Nelson and his girlfriend, Maureen Conroy, introduced Glen to his future wife, Ellen Hudson, during Glen’s senior year of high school. Ellen remembers the first three songs he played for her on their first date: “House of the Rising Son,” “Sloop John B,” and “If I Were a Carpenter.” Bob and Maureen earned the honorific of uncle and aunt and remained lifelong family friends.

Glen graduated from Traverse City Central High School in 1967. He joined the Air Force in April 1968 and married Ellen later that same year, on November 16, while home on leave. He was stationed in Bentwaters/Woodbridge RAF/AFB in Suffolk, England. Glen and Ellen lived together in a tiny apartment in Ipswich and toured both England and Wales until the completion of his active duty in 1972. They returned stateside with six-week-old Jennifer and lived in Kingsley until shortly after their second child, Trevor, was born. Then they bought their pink farmhouse at the corner of M-131 and M-186 in Fife Lake, which was used for decades by locals as a directional landmark.

Glen worked for Brown Lumber in Traverse City for 20 years. He also owned a knife and tool sharpening business, which he operated out of his home. He had a second career as a truck driver for 19 years, driving the “lower 48” with Ellen along as his helper. In 2003, he received the National Driver of the Year award from Allied Van Lines — honoring his exceptionally safe driving skills. He and Ellen have incredible stories about their travels, the variety of cargo they hauled, and the friends and characters they met on the road.

Glen could back his orange semi tractor-trailer into tight spaces with only inches of clearance, but at home he loved taking the path less traveled. Every car ever owned by Glen went two-tracking, although no vehicle was more beloved than his green International Scout, which acquired first a CB radio and then a winch to get the family out of countless backroad perils. Along with a love of buying (too frequently, some would say) the next best car, he nearly always had a motorcycle, ideal for taking Ellen on long drives or taking the kids on a turn around Fife Lake.

If he wasn’t finishing a woodworking project, he was probably outside breaking a cross-country ski trail over fields, across beaver ponds, and through swamps. Main trails were avoided during hikes. After buying the entire family new bicycles, he took them on a trial run—a 21-mile ride. (Trevor was only eight.) He kept a scooter stowed in the semi, which he kicked around on in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, among other places. He passed along his love of trails to his kids and grandkids, but never quite got the knack of turning back before everyone was tired.

Glen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2006 and retired from trucking in 2010, moving from the big farmhouse to their “little” house in Kingsley. After retirement, he kept up his quiet sports, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, biking, and geocaching. He spent more and more time in his woodshop making bespoke furniture and helping anyone with a wood or home project. He and Ellen joined the Parkinson’s Network North (PNN) support group, where they met many new friends and began volunteering. They organized a roadside pickup project in the name of PNN along a two-mile stretch of Garfield Road from 2013 until 2025. He and Ellen regularly attended Ageless Grace exercise classes specifically geared toward people living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers.

Glen remained mischievous and quietly stubborn right up to his final days. He appalled both his family and caretakers, frequently abandoning his assistive devices when he had no business doing so. He fell, and fell, and fell, but never broke a bone. He named his walker, trying to make peace with needing it, but hated it all the same. He squirreled away snacks that made him choke, and then got caught putting them back. But he still slept best when Ellen was by his side, just as she was when he began his final Kirkpatrick walk this past Monday.

Glen is survived by his wife, Ellen (Hudson) Kirkpatrick; children Jennifer Kirkpatrick Johnson & Richard Johnson, and Trevor & Carrie (Rogers) Kirkpatrick; his grandchildren, Macsen (Max) Kirkpatrick Johnson, Roan Kirkpatrick Johnson, and Aidan Kirkpatrick; in-laws Jim & Sandy Hudson, Ed Hudson, Sandy Taylor, Ron & Connie Hudson, Terry & Dona Hudson, Gary & Tammy Hudson, Nancy & Dale Mohler, and Art & Ronda Hudson; along with hundreds of nieces and nephews and their children.

Glen was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence Elsworth Kirkpatrick & Esther Alta (Winegar) Kirkpatrick; his sister, Cherril Ann (Kirkpatrick) Gillette; brother-in-law Billy Gillette; his parents-in-law, Ralph Leroy Hudson & Helena Elisabeth (Besemer) Hudson; and siblings-in-law, Carol & Jerry Clous, Skip & Joyce Strong, Lynn Hudson, Alvin (Pete) Hudson, Roy Taylor, and Albert Hudson.

We welcome you to carry on Glen’s tradition of financial support for: Interlochen Public Radio, Michigan Parkinson Foundation, Planned Parenthood of Michigan, or WCMU Public Media. 

A funeral service for Glen will take place on Sunday, August 16, at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City, beginning at 11:00 a.m., with visitation one hour prior at 10:00 a.m.

Following the funeral service, a gathering will take place at 2:00 p.m. at Summit City Grange Hall (9345 Church St, Kingsley, MI 49649), where Glen and Ellen had their wedding reception. Light refreshments and ice cream will be served.

Burial with close family and friends will take place Monday, August 17, at 3:00 p.m. at Evergreen Cemetery, W Kalkaska Rd NW, Kalkaska, MI 49646.

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