Kirk W. Walden

On April 12, 2025, Kirk W. Walden, age 59, died unexpectedly of natural causes at home in Vance, AL. The son of Cordys W. Walden Jr. and Thelma (Hicks) Walden, he was born and raised in New Jersey. Growing up, he loved bird hunting with his dad and the family’s English setter and Brittany spaniel dogs, as well as fishing and deer hunting.

After graduating high school in 1983, Kirk earned an associate’s degree while working as an engineer in New Jersey. In 1993, he graduated from the West Virginia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE). Then he came south to join his parents, who had retired and were living in Athens, AL. In 1998, he attended an international management school in Trieste, Italy and, in 2004, received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Kirk worked in Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur (including Key Engineering and Nichols Aluminum), and Huntsville (Navistar, Wyle Laboratories) before accepting a position at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International’s automobile manufacturing plant in Vance, from which he retired last year. He was very proud of his work, which took him all over the world. His other passions included building and racing cars, music and sound engineering, gardening, hunting and fishing, Italian cooking, and enjoying rural life on his own homestead.

He is survived by his wife Evelyn (Rothe) Walden, as well as his sister Evie (Walden) Forrest and her family. Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel is assisting the family.

Two visitation gatherings will be held. One will be at Legacy Chapel (Madison, AL) on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, from 5–7 pm. Another will be at Vance Community Center (Vance, AL) on Thursday, May 1, 2025, from 4-8 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to your local animal shelter or the American Heart Association.