KIRKLAND, William Henry (Bill)

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, May 10, 2011 William Henry Kirkland, 65, of Prescott, Ariz., born April 29, 1946, in Phoenix, Ariz., passed away May 9, 2011. Cremation was at Bradshaw Crematory in Prescott Valley; his remains will be placed in the Skull Valley Cemetery. Arrangements by Arizona Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home. ~~~~~~~~~ The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Wednesday, June 08, 2011 Bill Kirkland was the great-grandson of William Henry Kirkland, a noted pioneer in Arizona history. William Kirkland first came to Arizona in the early 1840s and was a rancher and businessman. In the late 1840s, he became commander of the Arizona militia in southern Arizona, and was instrumental in protecting pioneer families in Tucson and along the Gila Trail from Indian marauders and Mexican bandits. In 1848, the Gadsden Purchase was signed, making Arizona a United States Territory. William Kirkland was chosen to raise the first U.S. flag over the new territory. In later years, he founded the cities of Tempe, Safford and Kirkland. He later donated 80 acres of his homestead to found Tempe Normal College, now known as Arizona State University. His daughter, Ella Ritter of Skull Valley, the first Anglo child born in Arizona, later donated an additional 60 acres in adjacent property to ASU in 1955. Bill Kirkland was born in Phoenix in 1946 and attended South Mountain High School. There he participated in the sports of football and basketball, and graduated with honors. He chose to attend ASU on scholarship, and received a degree in chemistry in 1969. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 902nd Intelligence Corps. His first assignment was to the Pentagon, where he performed counter-espionage, interrogation and geopolitical strategy sessions. When his tour was up, Bill was hired by the FBI as a special agent. Soon after, Bill was personally recruited by Ross Perot as a securities analyst for DuPont, Glore, Forgon, Securities firm. Bill worked at this company for three years before founding his own investment management firm, Kirkland Investment Management, in 1977. In 1984, Bill Kirkland co-authored his best-selling book, "Power Cycles," a New York Times bestseller. In the book, Bill predicted the crash of 1987 and was the only U.S.-based investment firm to get his clients totally out of stock investments two weeks before the crash. In 1986 and 1987, he placed a close second from over 2,000 entrants in the U.S. Future's Trading Championships, averaging over a 1,000-percent return in the three-month period of each contest. In 1992, Bill retired from money management to pursue personal goals including a comprehensive study of the spiritual aspects of the world's primary religions, writing lyric poetry, obtaining an ITF black belt in martial arts, and studying higher mathematics and advanced physics. In the early 2000s, these studies evolved into Bill's fascination with the newly introduced "M" theory of the multidimensional aspects of the universe. Bill postulated that dimensions were interconnected by spirit and thought, and modulated by energy, and set out to prove his theories through a series of electronic inventions and experiments. While awaiting confirmation of his multidimensional theories presently being performed by the CERN cyclotron in Geneva Switzerland before patenting his inventions, Bill unexpectedly passed. Bill is survived by his son William V of Tempe; his nephews, John, Alex and Michael; niece Kelsey of Tempe; Grant and Jake of Prescott; Fran Kirkland, his mother; and brother Douglas of Prescott. Bill was buried at the Skull Valley cemetery next to his father after a private ceremony. Information provided by survivors.