Upon his passing in 2021 after a long illness, it was discovered that Kirkley had chosen to will his entire estate to the Fayetteville Free Library, representing the largest single gift the community institution has ever received.
During a public ceremony in the building’s Makerspace on Thursday, Nov. 17, family members and library staff huddled around the $1,035,000 check for a photo opportunity, but not before sharing remarks about the kind of person Kirkley was.
“Dan had a love of learning and curiosity for knowledge,” said Heather Matzel, the library’s executive director. “He would learn everything he could about a particular topic and he would come and share it with all of us.”
Known to some as “Bicycle Dan” in reference to his favorite mode of transportation, the avid patron and professional machinist enriched lives with the stories he told, the expertise he shared, and his mere presence, Matzel said.
“You could hear his bicycle cleats on the floor as he walked through the building,” she said. “That’s something that I truly miss.”
Maija McLaughlin, the local history librarian, said Kirkley was always “easy to talk to and approach.” She said he would often attend the library’s programs for adults, sometimes even making it to two in one day.
“I really appreciated him, because there were times when I wasn’t quite sure if anyone was gonna show up,” McLaughlin said.
Mike Cimino, the manager of the Makerspace, said Kirkley became an “ambassador” for that section of the library following its opening about a decade ago.
He also made note of Kirkley’s competence with the equipment in the Makerspace and his understanding of each machine’s inner workings.
“If Dan ever had a question about something in here, we were in trouble, because there probably wasn’t an answer,” Cimino said.
Kirkley’s younger brother Scott said his late sibling would be seen by most people as an “eccentric” and “extremely intelligent” person. He also mentioned that his brother once rode his bike from Seattle to Denver and that he lived in Canada for 25 years before returning to Fayetteville, the village in which he grew up.
Various objects Dan Kirkley worked on through the years, like mini lighthouses and laser-engraved ornaments, were put on view for the ceremony.
A plaque reading that the library would be “forever changed” by his “curious mind, kind soul and generous spirit” was displayed in his memory as well.
Leah Kraus, the assistant director of the library on Orchard Street, said a master planning process is underway to determine the exact use of Kirkley’s unprecedented donation in full, but she said a portion of the funds are set to go toward the structural renovation of the library’s approximately 4,000-square-foot east wing.
