Life & Time: DeWayne Kirby
DeWayne Kirby is a welder. He graduated from OHS in 1966. He had already been certified as a welder, taught by his dad, Tom Kirby, who had established Kirby Welding Services in 1954, and then was tested in Wichita Falls by AWS.
The welding technique was patented in 1881 and has helped to develop civilizations. Welding supports many industries including the construction, manufacturing, automotive, farming, the oil and gas, aviation and aerospace industries. Welders help build and maintain pipelines and work in making medical devices. It is argued that the Titanic might have survived had its seams been welded. Welding has its safety hazards and can be affected by the weather. DeWayne moved to Dallas to go to work for General Portman Cement as an iron worker at their prestressed concrete yard. He welded for that company which had a contract to lay cement for the building of Dallas-Ft.Worth Airport (DFW). DeWayne lived in the city for three years. He worked long hours and drove many miles but he made a nice amount of money for a young man right out of high school. DeWayne met Dixie through a co-worker and they soon married.
The couple decided to move home in 1969, back to Olney. DeWayne went to work for his dad at Kirby Welding Services.
The next ten years the welding company was busy and prosperous. In those years, they moved their business to the present location on State Highway 79 and built a large shop. They employed 15 people. De-Wayne said sometimes the employees, including himself, would have 30 hours a week overtime. During this time three children joined the family.
In 1980, the price of oil dropped drastically,
Photo by Ann M. Cumpton which has always affected the financial health of businesses in Olney, and it changed the work demands for welding.
DeWayne and his dad decided to diversify. They bought a backhoe and the work with that piece of equipment helped get them through difficult times. Dixie is and was a helpmeet. When her children became school age, she got a job as a substitute teacher and then became a full time teachers aide, adding to the family income while being available to her children. She worked for 35 years.
Kirby Welding Services acquired a dump truck and eventually ten 18-wheelers; they have had good working relations with some of the great businesses in and around Olney. Fort Belknap Electric Co-op and Tower Extrusions are constant clients. Kirby welding offers services in shop, field and fabrication welding, dirt work, backhoe and dozer work, rock and equipment hauling and they have a certified diesel mechanic, their son Chris, on hand. The company also offers storage bins.
DeWayne became sole owner of the business in 1998.
DeWayne has slowed his work schedule a bit but knows he can depend on his son, Chris, who does the real work, and his daughter, Kimberli Cuba, the bookkeeper, who are preparing to take over the responsibilities of the 70-year-old family business.
One photograph shows the four family members that work in the family business standing in front of their wall of memorabilia and the other photo shows Chris, standing by a 60 series Detroit diesel motor that he is working on.
DeWayne’s family has lived in Olney several generations and he was born with many kinfolk around. They were Pentecostal. They believed in and relied upon prayer, as was the custom of his Grandmother Kirby.
There has always been music in DeWayne’s life. His parents sang and played instruments at home and Church and sometimes other places. DeWayne learned to play the trombone in the OHS band, which meant learning to read the bass clef. Later in life, he realized he was blessed by the great Teacher with the ability to play music by ear. He follows the tradition of his parents by sharing his musical abilities, sometimes joined by his daughter, Kim (who also plays piano at her Church). DeWayne says he is now a “Bapticostal.”
DeWayne remembers a pleasant childhood with his dad working long hours but taking time off to be with the family. They would go to the lake and water ski, then his dad would get some sleep in the back seat of the car, to be ready to go back to work, while his mom fixed a meal for them. DeWayne expresses that life in Olney has afforded him time with his own family. While he was a student in OHS, he had a teacher tell him he needed to read and understand “Macbeth” so he would be ready for college. DeWayne explained that he did not intend to go to college and she proclaimed he would be a ditch digger. After De-Wayne returned to Olney, he was commissioned to do work at a home being built for this teacher. He told her that he was digging ditches but was being paid well. Later this teacher commissioned DeWayne to teach her to weld, as she needed that technique to do her art work. They came to appreciate each other’s lifestyles, hugging each other at reunions. She was a great teacher and Olney has been blessed that way.
DeWayne is having a wonderful life in Olney with family becoming more numerous. De-Wayne and Dixie are now grandparents to eight and great-grandparents to seven - some of whom live in and around Olney. Many continue in the family tradition of faith and family, having a good work ethic and, always, sharing their musical abilities.
The oldest son, Russell, has carried the high standards of his family throughout the world, joining the military after graduation. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree while serving in the 1st Infantry Division in the U.S. Army. He was trained as a crew chief mechanic for Big Red One Dust Off (shaking off the dust of combat and returning to home base or to a medical facility) on a Medivac helicopter. Russ served in Afghanistan. He is now retired and works for Homeland Security (we appreciate you, Russ).
DeWayne says Olney is a great place to raise a family and to make a living. DeWayne and Dixie’s son and daughter are working with them, ready to continue to live, work and thrive in this family business in Olney.
They are always thankful