Bethold Joseph “B.J.” Hirt, 81, died on May 21 in Lincoln, Neb., after a short battle with cancer. He was a wonderful father, husband, teacher, scientist, master woodworker and friend to anybody who stopped by the shop in his garage to chat. He was kind and gentle and generous in many unassuming ways; a hard-working farm kid to the core. Born in 1940 to Bethold and Evelyn Hirt, he grew up in Dorrance, Kan., and graduated from Dorrance High School, Fort Hays State College and Kansas State University, where he earned his PhD in 1968. He was a tall fellow and loved sports. His high school team won the 1956 Kansas State Basketball Championship (Div. BB), and he went on to play basketball at Fort Hays State. He also played a mean trombone when he was young.
It was at K-State that he married Donna Dlabal. From there they moved to Wayne, Neb., where Hirt was a professor of biology at Wayne State College. In 1978, they and their three children moved to Lincoln, Neb. Hirt taught biology, physiology and anatomy to thousands of students at Lincoln High School before retiring in 1998. He was a skilled woodworker who could build or fix anything. People came to his shop from far and wide with their family heirlooms, and he saved untold hundreds of broken chairs, tables, beds and other pieces of furniture from the trash heap, usually using salvaged wood.
Hirt enjoyed simple pleasures: a huge pile of fire wood, taking the long way and the country roads, a bag of peanut clusters or a chocolate chip cookie. He was a smart cookie himself and knew a lot about a lot of things. There was always a well-read newspaper or a crossword near his chair and the History Channel on the TV. He was great at Jeopardy. He was a man of science but also a man of faith. He was a realist but also an optimist. There is so much more we would like to say, but a really long obituary would not be his style.
He is survived by Doni, his wife of 56 years; his children and their spouses: Jane Hirt (Michael Lenzi) of Chicago, Susan Hirt (Brian) of Chesterfield, Mo., and Mitch Hirt (Lori) of Lincoln; his grandchildren Nathan and Evan; his sister Rosa Lee Whitmer (Richard) of Wilson, Kan.; and many nieces and nephews around the country. They will miss him greatly.
Visitation with the Family present will be at Butherus, Maser & Love, 4040 A. St., in Lincoln on Monday, May 24, 2021, 3-7pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday, May 26 at 10:30am at St. Joseph Parish in Dorrance, KS. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the People’s City Mission in Lincoln or to St. Joseph Parish in Dorrance, Kan.