Ralph Kirkham (Kirk) Safford 3rd of West Tisbury died in Boston on Jan. 10 with his wife Kristine by his side.

Born in Boston on October 26, 1942 to Nancy B. French Safford and Ralph Kirkham Safford II, he spent much of his youth between New Haven, Conn. and Martha’s Vineyard.

It was on the Vineyard that Kirk gained a deep appreciation of the ocean, clamming alongside his dad, sailing with his friends and, in later years, fishing alongside his sons and grandsons.

After graduating in 1960 from the Forman School in Litchfield, Conn., he attended Beloit College in Beloit, Wisc. where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature. After graduation he married Susan Schambacher and moved to California where he taught at the Etna Elementary School for two years before moving to Vancouver, British Columbia to attend graduate school at the University of British Columbia. It was during that time that his son Kirk Safford 4th was born.

Upon completion of his master’s degree in social psychology he taught for two years at Cariboo College in Kamloops, B.C. He and his young family lived on a ranch outside of town, surrounded by a vast wilderness.

His time on the West Coast was shaped by his interest in ranch living, which arose after two formative summers working at a dude ranch in Wyoming in his early teens, and his passion for fishing, which carried him to Howe Sound each fall where he’d mooch or troll for Pacific salmon with friends and family.

After his first marriage ended, he moved back to the East Coast of the United States and eventually settled in southern New Hampshire where he found his calling in the printing industry. In 1990 he founded Publishers’ Marketeer, a company he owned and operated for more than 25 years.

In 1992 Kirk met Kristine Larsen Scheffer. They married and the following year moved into their home in West Tisbury, along with her three children.

Kirk and Kristine returned to New Hampshire many times to hike and snowshoe the trails and mountains. As much as he enjoyed the ocean and mountains, there was nowhere he was happier than at his home in West Tisbury, puttering in his gardens and sitting in front of a fire, reading a good history book or watching a game and, most of all, gathering with family and friends. He was smart, witty, patient and kind. His family feels so blessed to have had him in their lives.

Kirk is survived by his wife Kristine; son Kirk; stepdaughter Kimberly Rogers and her husband Danny Rogers; stepsons Isaiah Scheffer and his wife Emma Green Beach, and Jeremy Scheffer and his wife Isabelle Lew; and by his grandchildren, Leroy, Gabriel, Matteus, Brayden, Odin, Vera and Maya.

He is also survived by his sister Leila Corbitt and her husband John Aucoin, brother in law Tony Omer, and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his parents, his stepmother Sally Safford and his sisters Nancy and Susie Safford.

There will be a celebration of his life on April 27.

In lieu of flowers, please perform a random act of kindness for someone in need.