03/11/2025
To: General Air Service Customers and Friends,
It is with true sadness that I share that General Air Service has lost my father, our founder, and our owner of 56 years, last month. James Donald "Donnie" Kirk died peacefully on February 17, 2025.
While Donnie had finally hung up his tools and was no longer helping with the company's day-to-day operations, he was still active and involved three or four days a week through last spring, when his health started declining. Dad loved being on the job sites and meeting with our customers. He was still helping with estimates and ductwork designs through last June.
General Air Service is the company we are today through Dad's hard work and dedication. In business, he valued our customers and our employees above all else. This legacy will continue through the values he instilled in me. While Dad is no longer with us, we will continue to operate in the manner he started. We will strive to provide high-quality service to our customers with honesty and dependability as our top priority.
Sincerely,
Doug Kirk
General Air Service
We will celebrate Donnie's life on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 5:00 PM at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, 110 Sugarwood Dr. Farragut, TN 37934. The receiving of friends and reception will follow the service. A private family interment will take place another day.
Donnie was known for his love of family and spent many days and weeks traveling across the US, Canada, and Mexico, often driving a motorhome full of hockey players. Donnie and Alice built a wonderful life together, full of adventure and generosity. Alice and Donnie began hosting a 4th of July party in 1966 that grew into an annual reunion for generations of friends and family. He loved any reason to celebrate and share wonderful stories with both new and old friends. His unparalleled knowledge of art and geography came from his and Alice’s travel experiences as a couple and with their family. This particularly came in handy later in life when playing trivia games. He worked hard and played hard. He grew up playing football, baseball, and basketball but was a terrible swimmer. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, he raced cars and boats and was a fan of both men’s and women’s UT athletics, he loved to coach his sons in sports and taught his grandchildren how to fry okra and clean fish. He restored historic homes. He loved all kinds of art from original bluegrass music to French Impressionism.
Donnie was often called the hardest-working, self-made man anyone knew. He was a proud entrepreneur who created and helped build multiple businesses to serve the East Tennessee area. His heating & air conditioning company, General Air Service, started in 1969 and continues to be run by his family to this day. He was most proud that his sons, grandchildren, and many other family members learned from and worked with him throughout the years. Donnie's youngest son, Doug, will continue as the principal operator of the company, as he has for many years.
