Kirk Daniel Gassman, age 64, of Malvern, walked onto the streets of gold on December 4, 2023. He was born April 23, 1959, the youngest child of World War I veteran Glenn A. and Vivian E. Stearla Gassman in Pontiac, Michigan. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Dale Gassman.

Kirk is survived by his wife of 43 years, Karen; two sons, Adam (Beka) Gassman and Gil Gassman; four grandchildren, Ellie, Rose, Ian, and Ruby Gassman; a sister, Cheryl Gassman Dawson; a brother, Glenn Gassman, Jr.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Kirk's father died just a few months after Kirk's birth, prompting the family's move to Hot Springs. Kirk grew up in the Lakeside area and graduated from Magnet Cove High School in 1979. It was in grade school there that he met his future wife, Karen Dunkin. They were married in 1980. Kirk embarked upon earning a living for the family, becoming a licensed boiler operator and working for major utility companies such as Arkansas Power & Light (now Entergy) at Jones Mill and the Tennessee Valley Authority in Memphis. He held several different jobs through the years, most recently doing appliance repair.

At age 36, Kirk surrendered to the ministry, and was currently serving as pastor of Hebron Baptist Church in DeWitt. He previously pastored a number of Baptist churches in this area, including being the founding pastor of New Freedom Baptist Church in Malvern. During his ministry, he led many people to the Lord.

Bro. Kirk was a great storyteller and jokester, often weaving humorous stories into his sermons. He relished entertaining others with those stories, even if the joke was sometimes on him! Bro. Kirk never met a stranger and enjoyed interacting with people. He so enjoyed communicating with others that he became a CB operator (call sign KI5AZG) and active member of the Hot Spring County Amateur Radio Emergency Net.

The family requests that memorials be made to Wounded Warrior Project  (4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256 or woundedwarriorproject.org ) or the Little Rock Compassion Center (3618 West Roosevelt, Little Rock, AR, 72204 or lrcompassionctr@sbcglobal.net).

Visitation will be on Saturday, December 16th at 10am, at Regency Funeral Home Chapel with the Memorial Service beginning at 11am, with Pastor Wayne Murphree officiating.

Arrangements made by Regency Funeral Home. You may sign the guestbook at regencyfuneralhome.com.