The "Keith Kirkland"
Introducing our newest canoe, an 18'4" Mad River Lamoille, now named for dear friend and wilderness aficionado, Keith Kirkland, 1957-2025
Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 989
"Voice of the Lower Mississippi River"
Introducing our newest canoe -- the Keith Kirkland. The Bluff City Canoe Club donated this classic canoe to us in honor of my dear friend Keith Kirkland 1957-2025. (along with 2 vintage Old Town beavertail paddles). Thanks to treasurer Mike Dale for making delivery!
As a way of deepening the significance of this wonderful gift, we have decided to further honor our dear friend Keith Kirkland 1957-2025 with a naming ceremony. I have painted his name down stern end of canoe, and she is now proudly known as the Keith Kirkland. We paddled the Keith Kirkland on her maiden voyage on Old River Lake last week, Mississippi River oxbow, near Clarksdale MS.
What a sweet canoe! We are very excited to add her to our livery. She handles beautifully. And very pretty too, with her Kevlar Aramid hull trimmed out in ash gunnels and mahogany decks. Seats and thwarts appear to be ash. Built in 1995 by the now defunct Mad River Canoe Company of Vermont. We will use this canoe for single person guided trips, as well as for educational and exploration purposes within the floodplain of the biggest (and richest) river in North America. Like his beloved Wolf River, Keith could not get enough of the Mighty Mississippi! Keith was a fine gentleman, father, outdoorsman, and fun-loving person. I will sorely miss him. But his legacy will sustain the test of the time through this canoe. Not to mention all his work promoting and caring for the wild places of the mid-South. The Wolf River Conservancy being one example. And lastly his great campfire stories! (keep reading below for examples). Our deepest appreciation to Mike Dale and the members of the Bluff City Canoe Club. We are sincerely touched by this thoughtfulness. Sincerely yours, "Driftwood Johnnie" John Ruskey
Some personal "Keithling" reminisces:
I first met Keith back in the mid-90s at Outdoors Inc Mid-Town Memphis. I was immediately drawn to his cheerful and charismatic nature; his booming Tennessee drawl filled the store. He told great stories, and delivered helpful knowledgable advice on all manner of equipment for sale. Memphis is one of those neighborly cities where individuals seem to shine, and Keith was a bright one -- a ray of sunshine. We became fast friends through our mutual love of nature and paddling. I started calling him "Keithling" as a term of endearment. He turned me onto the surprising wonders of the Wolf River. And the Big South Fork of the Cumberland Plateau. He opened my eyes to the incredible beauty of Ozark Rivers like the Buffalo. 
Several years later he & his vibrant wife (Margaret) joined us in the Delta for a multi-day New Years Mississippi River adventure in a big canoe during the second year of our operations as a company (1999), putting in at Mhoon Landing in Tunica and sailing downstream to Helena (or maybe Montezuma, near Friars Point). We paddled 27' Ladybug Canoe. Keith proudly remembered that trip as "the one where my daughter Hannah was conceived!" This was a story he repeated to anyone who would listen, as he did with so many other stories, which for us friends became chapters in a favorite book we repeatedly opened, the stories cutting grooves into our psyches like wagon wheels into the muddy bluffs of the Natchez Trace.
Some of the best chapters of this book include the "Doo-Rag" chapter, the "River Guide 3 Responses You Can Use to Answer Any Question" chapter, the "Juke Joint Woman in the Gold Lamé Dress I'll Give you Twins" chapter, the "River Grabbed her Paddle and Wouldn't Let Go!" chapter, the "What'd He Just Say? A Towboat About to Run Us Over?" chapter, the "Rooster in the Hot Springs" chapter, the hillbilly "You Have the prettiest Lips!" chapter, the "Cold night lost in the Maze of the Ghost River" chapter, and so on and so forth. Anyone who spent an evening around the riverbank campfire with Keith will know these gems, usually shared with a can of beer in one hand, and illustrative hands gestures alongside, and many more, treasures we now share as those lucky enough to have rubbed elbows with his finely tuned sense of family, adventure, conservation, drama, and gritty love of wild places. If he didn't like you, you would probably end up in one of his stories, beginning with an exclamation, "That Sonofabitch!" When you live a passionate life rooted in wilderness & family & community ethics, as Keith lived, and you have a deep moral compass, like Keith did, you will inevitably cross paths with those that don't.
He was so proud of Margaret and Hannah, a deep loving husband, and a doting loving father, he endlessly related fun stories from their life's adventures. But Margaret kept him in check telling as many stories about Keith, as Keith did, such as the time he "Forgot to Step on the Brake First to start his Prius," and the "Lick Creek Escape" story, and many other goodies full of good humor and earthy wisdom. And how about the many tales that involves Keith's sense of direction? Such as the time he "Failed to Return from WalMart West Memphis," and also the "Which Way is Memphis? -- Strange Case of the Delta Triangle" chapter. We'll definitely have to add those to the book! (BTW: Margaret was every bit his match, endlessly lively, and lovely, and fun-loving, and full of mischievous doings herself. She was also multi-year winner of the Outdoors Inc Memphis Canoe & Kayak race, in her division).
Keith was there for me in and out of several girlfriend heartbreaks; he & Margaret became my home base when I started dating my wife-to-be, Sarah, who was a French professor at Rhodes at that time. Keith & Margaret came to our wedding and gifted us a pair of sweet Bending Branches bent shaft paddles, the finest paddles I'd ever used up to that point. My marriage didn't last, but the paddles did (as well as our beloved daughter Emma-Lou, who knew Keith & Margaret, and was entranced by Hannah -- just graduated from the Mississippi School of the Arts, and going to Middlebury College). I cherish these stories and memories with Keith, his eyes lit up like glowing embers, his rich resonant voice rumbling clearly amongst the gurgles of the water, and owl and coyote calls. His infectious laugh. We shared many a river adventure, and cooking by the campfire story, on the Wolf River, the Mississippi, the Big South Fork, and the Hatchie River. I am running out of space and time here. Someday in the future I'll share more Keith stories, and sometime I hope to hear some of yours!
Keith Douglas Kirkland
July 17, 1957 – April 29, 2025
Keith Kirkland, of Memphis, Tennessee, passed away on April 29, 2025, at the age of 67. Born in Memphis, Keith lived a life guided by a deep love of family, nature, music and community.
A proud graduate of the University of Memphis, Keith was an avid outdoorsman, conservationist, educator, husband and father. He spent many years managing Outdoors Inc., where he shared his passion for the outdoors and helped foster a spirit of adventure in others. Following his time at Outdoors Inc., he served as the Executive Director of The Wolf River Conservancy, where his dedication to conservation left a lasting legacy.
Keith was among the first to navigate and chart the Ghost River section of the Wolf River, blazing a trail rough that swamp that has since been enjoyed by countless others. His pioneering efforts and vision helped protect and promote one of the region’s most treasured natural areas. Keith was also known for leading and planning amazing group adventures like the monthly full moon floats on the Wolf River. It was on one such an adventure that Kieth met his wife, Margaret.
Keith cherished his wife Margaret and their daughter, Hannah. Together they shared many great adventures. Keith was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Margaret Welsh Kirkland; his parents, Billy Joe Kirkland and Marium “Mimi” Kirkland. He is survived by his daughter, Hannah Kirkland; his brothers, Karl Kirkland and Kerry Kirkland (Kim); his sister, Kim Wolfe (Steve); and his cherished nieces and nephews: Lauren Patterson (Andrew), Mathew Kirkland (Meridith), Brandon Wolfe (Ambher), and Brittney Wolfe. He also leaves behind seven great-nieces and great-nephews, all of whom brought him joy. Keith will be remembered for his commitment to family, love of Juke Joints, generosity, campfire story-telling, adventurous spirit, and lifelong commitment to protecting the natural world. His impact on those who knew him and the landscapes he loved will be felt for generations to come. Celebration held May 29th at the Overton Park Shell- a venue very dear to Keith. We will have a deck reserved to see the band, Chapparel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Quapaw Canoe Company (Clarksdale Mississippi) in Keith’s honor. Keith was a big supporter of Quapaw’s mission to support and educate low-income kids of Clarksdale. RIP sweet Keith. It’s time to rest. You’re leaving a gap in Memphis and our hearts but we know you’re now with Margaret again.
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most exciting view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds,”
-Edward Abbey
For more Keith stories, click here
Quapaw Canoe Company ~ Celebrating 27 Years of Service Custom Guiding & Outfitting on the Lower Mississippi River Winner of the SBA 2024 Small Business of the Year Award
Thank you for sharing about Keith, what an exceptional person, rip Friend Keith!🙏 and the Keith Kirkland she is so beautiful, a fitting legacy to dance on the River!❤️
In a side note, my old dog Tip went on before us last spring, I’ve been forging on without furry companionship until 6 weeks ago when I adopted a ten year old Dutch Shepherd, her name? Emmy Lou! Such wonderful name, carried on through the generations! All my love, Jen