Mark Allen Kirkendall, age 50, passed away after an auto accident, Sept. 18, 2023, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Mark was born May 16, 1973, in Red Cloud, Neb., to Terry and Coleen (Walker) Kirkendall. He was raised on a farm northwest of Smith Center. He graduated from Smith Center and went on to Cloud County and then to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina to receive his bachelor's degree in nursing.
He worked at Salina Regional Hospital, setting up a medical floor for heart and cancer patients. He worked in Arizona for many years going from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Then he began another side of his career as a traveling nurse. He completed his nursing career at Woodlawn Hospital in Wichita. He was a nurse for over 20 years.
Mark’s passion in life was held in many places. He lived for and was dedicated to caring for his patients and their families with compassion and skill. Mark had a special talent for music. There wasn’t an instrument he picked up that he couldn’t play. He had a band for many years, enjoying the ones who played with him and the destinations they went to. He loved to paint and has several pictures hanging in his family home. Mark also had a Harley Davidson motorcycle that he enjoyed while riding with his friends.
Survivors include his daughter Brooke Tanner Kirkendall of Salina; son Rogun Parker Lee Kirkendall of Wichita; his parents Terry and Coleen Kirkendall of Smith Center and a brother Troy and wife Stacy Kirkendall of Gentry, Ark; nieces Caitlyn and Sophie.