Submit a PhotoKirk William Haspel, “Cowboy Kirk,” 64, went out with his boots on December 31, 2020 in Eloy, Arizona. Born in Port Jefferson, NY on June 30, 1956 to William and Margaret Haspel, Kirk attended Sachem High School and moved to Arizona in the late spring of 1978.
Kirk is survived by his children Savannah and Cody; and two grandchildren. As well as his two brothers, Gary and Brad, and sister Cheryl.
Kirk was selfless and kind hearted, always helping a friend or animal in need. He had a deep love for dogs and horses, devoting his life to animal rescue and making a 40-year career as a horseshoer. He enjoyed being by the water, loved to sing and was passionate about health and fitness. In the evenings you could find him with a good cigar, sipping a glass of tequila and watching his favorite movie Tombstone.
Friends and family are invited to join a Celebration of Life gathering at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at Gilbert Memorial Park, 2100 East Queen Creek Road, Gilbert AZ 85297.
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The Haspell family raised a great son, brother,father and friend to many. With all our hearts we thank you Kirk, for your generosity, and contagious love of life and all things good.
Kirk had a heart of gold and would help any one or animal in need. He will be so terribly missed by many. Love to you my friend.
He was such sweet young man in high school. My prayers and hugs I send to all who cared for him. May your memories and love see you through this difficult time.
Thanks for being my friend. Glad we were able to reconnect the last few years! Rest in Peace my friend!!
You took a peice of my heart when you left i want you to know. Your one of a kind. Thank you for all the good times and sweet memories. Ill never forget. Rest peacefully sweet darling ❤
A big brother adored by his siblings, a horseman of talent & compassion, Kirk is leaving many sad & heartbroken But we are truly blessed to have had him in our lives. Judy & John
Kirk is going to be missed by so many! People horses and pets! He was a great guy and with HUGE heart, I”m so sorry to hear of his passing, (and so are my horses) 🙁
My deepest sympathy to The Haspel Family. I will remember Kirk with a big smile on his face in high school. He was always very kind. May the piece of the Lord be with you
KIrk my dear friend you selflessly served so many in your travels and you never declined a plea for help from anyone. I am so proud and blessed to have you as a friend all these years. Your work is done here, go rest your weary soul with Him until I see you again! Your forever faithful friend
you took a piece of my heart with you when you left. thank you for all the good times and memories, ill never forget. rest in peace sweet heart .
I knew Kirk for over 30 years. We would talk while he worked on my horses. We shared notes on our kids, our dogs, and his nightlife. He gave my daughter one of his rescue horses as a companion for her orphaned filly. He was a great guy with a big heart!
My heart goes out to the Haspel family, Kirk was an amazing person, ONE OF A KIND. Nick and I as well as so many will miss him deeply for the years to come. May your hearts be filled with his love and all the good memories you’ve shared over the years. Rest in eternal peace Kirk.
Farewell, Kirk, and thank you you for your time and support for our horses. We’ll miss you and always appreciate your kindness. Fly high and enjoy those rides up there.
Years ago, I worked with Kirk shoeing horses. I have fine memories of those years! To quote a line from the new version of True Grit, “we had lively times.” If I had been as good a horseshoer as Kirk, I would not have moved on. I know everyone that knew him will miss him as much as I do! He was a good man! Rest In Peace Cowboy!
Well I must say he was a great “ older brother “, he and Glen Orlando hung around and lived w my older brother for years so he was family more so then my real older brother. I can’t thank him enough for being there and checking in when he wasn’t around. He lived HIS life and took care of what needed to be. I went to school with Brad and he happens to know why I can not be there as I reached out to him ( upon kirks request) recently about health care as I am on my 9 th cancer surgery and alive!! However it’s too soon , I can not travel . My heart is w his brothers, sister and children ( all family) he was a treasure to know and the richest people were related to him💕my heart aches for all, something tells me he still has his boots on and sipping tequila while he is watching over all of you ✌🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I will forever remember Kirk’s dedicated commitment to caring for my Angel. It was with his kind heart And expertise, he helped to heal my girl. Thank you Kirk. We love you.
I wish the entire family peace and send my love.
Kirk,
You have my utmost respect and I am proud to have called you my friend. You are a truly beautiful soul who helped hundreds of people and animals, just because you wanted to. Sit back, take it easy, sing some songs. You deserve the break.
See Ya
Maguirk!,,, My heart aches that you are gone. You were truly an original free spirited person with a huge heart. I will treasure always memories from the years of our youth when we became each others extended family. I fell in love with all of you kids instantly and looked forward to the weekends when you would visit. Even when I moved out I came home on Sunday because you all were going to be there and Marie was going to cook! Although we all moved far apart from each other we always stayed connected at the heart and the times we did get to share were always wonderful. I remember coming out west to visit a few times and going on a job horseshoeing with you and you showing me what to do. Somewhere there is even a picture of you and I and I’m holding the horses hoof between my knees. Another great memory is us floating the Salt River. It was my first river floating experience and I loved it. You were pretty proud showing me around your new way of life and I was pretty proud of you. And of course how about all of us cramming into the mustang with water skis and fishing gear heading to Maple Lake Farm. One year adding Linda’s friend Fran making it 8 in the mustang. You caught a fish (might have been your first fish) and Bill had the cook make it for dinner but I don’ think any of us kids ate it!! I was recently reminded by Cheryl about us getting pulled over driving around Oakdale and her youthful innocence in addressing him, had a good laugh over that! Your voice will forever ring in my ears of you and Linny singing on the cruise. That trip was so much fun! So many memories and fun times. You leave a big chunk missing for all of us who loved you and called you brother, dad, granddad and friend. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with Gary, Brad, Cheryl, Savannah and Cody to say good bye. Actually I wouldn’t have said good-bye, I would have said, I’ll see you later cowboy when the good Lord calls us all together. Until then,,,,1-4-3 forever.
Please accept my deepest sympathy at the loss of your father, brother, and grandfather. I’ve known Kirk from school. A kindhearted, gentle soul. May he fly with the angels!!
My deepest sympathy to the entire Haspel family. Kirk was always so kind and funny when I spoke with him. We spoke of our love and work with horses and dogs and poked fun at the muscle heads we knew, (which is how we met). His love and dedication to his animals, friends and family were genuine. I wish for all – peace, reach out to those you love, tell them – tell them how much you appreciate what they bring to your life. Live, love, be kind. Kirk would want everyone to take time to help an animal and human in need.
Rest well cowboy – see you at the river. Peace
Here’s to you Kirk Haspel. We love you. The world will be so much more different without you in it. You had a sense of humor that was beyond words. You were so kind. Never turned your back on any animal or person. Your generosity was boundless. Heaven has a new angel. I hope everyone up there can handle the Kirk we all know and love. God speed, God bless you for all eternity. I miss you so much my dear friend. Thank you for knocking on my front door on Ave A in Holbrook, at 7 years old to see if I wanted to go ride bikes with you. I will never forget you. You taught me so many things. Some really great, some, not so much. You taught me how to cut class and not get caught! We had so much fun together. My life changed the day you died. I truly pray that you’re at peace now. That’s what you were searching for, for so long. My heart is broken and such a big piece is missing. But that part that’s missing, will always have a place for you.
As your brother Gary taught me 1-4-3 forever! 💔
Like many we were blessed to have Kirk as our shoer. We had an old man with laminitis that we struggled to keep sound, the Kirk special. At the time Kirk did not travel to our house, but agreed to have us trailer to him. Our first visit, I’m a teenager loading up two horses and hauling in, I get a flat. I change said flat tire and continue on. If you know Kirk, he was particular about his schedule and well I was late. As I pull up I get an earful. He is very upset we have messed with his schedule and is not interested in my reasons, hahah. All I remember though is standing there going yes sir, I know sir, sorry as I stare wide eyed at this tough cowboy wearing women’s reading glasses, complete with ladybug print and a beaded lanyard. He always took great care of my hooves babies, and paid extra special attention to those old “troublesome ones.” He had a unique personality, and the kindest heart for God’s animals. May he Rest In Peace, and May he be there to comfort his family and watch over them. You will be missed Cowboy Kirk.
My deepest sympathy to Kirk’s family and friends. I didn’t know Kirk for long, but he took great care of my girls (horses)! His love of horses, dogs and all God’s creature followed my passion. He was easy to talk to and always asked about my husband who was very ill last year. I pray for peace and comfort for the family.
KWH… Called ya kilowatt hours. Charged with energy and passion for life..
I will always remember the new york cowboy saying “there’s no crying in baseball.”
And I could only describe you as “you are not vanilla.” A compliment to the nth degree.
To say you are missed is an understatement. That you are content now is my wish for you. And for your family you prided on..for them to find peace is my prayer.
With love your friend Kris.
My heart is broken. I’ve known you for seven years. You have taken such good care of my horses in those years. You will be missed so very much. I’ll take good care of Shirly the chicken. I’m so glad I have her, so when I see her you will still be here. God Bless You. Love and prayers to your family.
We just found out about Kirk. He was the kindness soul you could ever meet. He just wasn’t our ferrier for over 15 years but our friend. You would always call and check of my husband health. Kirk was just a super kind man. We will miss you!
We sent a text to Kirk on Friday, as he was late in scheduling our horses for trimming their hooves – not typical of him, and to let him know that one of our 36 year old rescue horses (Bandit) had to be euthanized two weeks ago as his severely arthritic pelvis and Cushings Disease had gotten the best of him. We didn’t get a text back – again totally unlike Kirk. We called him today and got a recorded message from Verizon stating the number had been disconnected or changed. We tried two more times with the same result. Confused and concerned, we did an internet search and to our disbelief came across his obituary. Our hearts broke and tears are streaming down our faces as we write this. We have lost our farrier who has taken exceptional care of our personal and rescue horses needs for over 25 years. More importantly, we have lost a wonderful friend and amazing person. Kirk was the most gentle, generous, and giving person we’ve known, despite his outwardly rough image. He was always willing to assist us with our horses needs and the needs of other equine and animal lovers by sharing his exceptional skills and knowledge. Kirk is the only farrier I know who had the patience to trim Bandits’ hooves, taking three people to stabilize him to keep him from falling on Kirk, due to the arthritis in his pelvis caused by his first owner beating him with a 2×4. Kirk never got mad at Bandit for the amount of time and difficulty it took for the trimming. He would say to Bandit, “that’s OK old man, I know you’re trying your best.” When our ranch became over crowded with rescue horses, Kirk without hesitation, took one of them (Bando) to his ranch. He chose Bando because Bando had a significant tendon problem, causing a rear leg to lock up. Bando received exceptional care under Kirk, becoming a very happy, content horse. Kirk was always surrounded by animals – horses, dogs, pigs, chickens etc. he took in. How did he find the time? We will sincerely miss Kirks’ warmth and humor joining us at PRCA and PBR events. I will personally miss sharing a good premium cigar with him on special occasions. Our deepest sympathy and condolences to Savannah, her children, Cody, Cheryl, Brad and Gary. Had we been aware, we would not have missed his Celebration of Life! He truly lived a life worthy of celebrating. The world is a lesser place without him! We desperately need more people in it with the qualities demonstrated by Kirk!!
Thank you for being my friend, Kirk. I will always be thankful for your heart and your kindness toward me. Godspeed. You are missed on this earth, Kirk, I hope you know.
Kirk, I have not stopped thinking about you and I truly hope you are at peace. Thank you for all the late night conversations and the advice you always gave when my pup was ill. Love you to the moon and back. Rest in peace my friend.