David Lee Shirk

David Lee Shirk of Murfreesboro, TN passed away September 24, 2026, as the result of a traumatic brain injury. David was born April 09,1956 in Sunbury PA, the son of Ernest E. and June E. (Shadel) Shirk of Mount Pleasant Mills, PA. He is survived by his wife, Susan Myers Shirk of Murfreesboro, TN, his brother and sister-in-law, Darryl and Ellen (Stuck) Shirk of Middleburg, PA, and two nephews, Nathan Shirk of Catawissa, PA and Chad Shirk of Hellertown, PA. He retired in 2022 from the Tennessee State Department of Human Services as a program coordinator, after having spent most of his professional life in social services.

David was a good, gentle, kind man who was loved by so many, but especially by Susan, his wife of 47 years. Occasionally stubborn, always in motion, he was a man of integrity, a passionate outdoorsman and environmentalist, an ethical hunter who only hunted with single shot weapons, a craftsman who built his own antique reproduction flintlock guns and a cabin in the woods, and a nature photographer. He especially loved traveling with Susan to photograph wildlife in the national parks, and he was an avid supporter of maintaining the parks as a legacy for future generations.

David took his health seriously—eating well, which included eating a big bowl of vegetables for breakfast; walking his dog, Baxter, every day, twice a day; riding his bicycle 7-9 miles a day; and weight training—not necessarily to prolong his life, but, instead, so he could continue to do the things he loved for as long as he lived. And because he was so careful about his health, it meant that with his passing he could give the gift of life to others through organ and tissue donation.

David never met a pun he didn’t like, loved his family, friends, and neighbors deeply, spoiled his wife, and spent some part of every day thinking of ways to enrich the lives of those around him with small gifts and acts of kindness.

His was a life well-lived.

A memorial gathering will be scheduled at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in David’s memory to the American Brain Foundation https://www.americanbrainfoundation.org/ the Rocky Mountain Conservancy https://rmconservancy.org/ ; Friends of the Smokies, https://friendsofthesmokies.org/ ; or Friends of Stones River National Battlefield https://friendsofstonesriver.org/