The esteemed Masonic author W. Kirk MacNulty passed away in Arlington, Virginia, on November 8, 2020. He was the author of several important books on Freemasonry: The Way of the Craftsman, Freemasonry: A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol, Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance, and Contemplating Craft Freemasonry: Working the Way of the Craftsman.
W. Kirk MacNulty was born in California in 1932. He studied at Stanford University and the University of Tennessee, and had a career in the United States Marine Corps and in corporate information technology.
His interest and involvement in Freemasonry spans more than fifty-five years. He received the degrees of Masonry in 1961 at Carson Valley Lodge № 33 of Gardnerville, Nevada. He later affiliated with lodges in Hawaii, Tennessee, England, and Virginia. He was Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Living Stones № 4957 in Leeds, England, in 1979, 1980, and 1991.
He was the Charter Master (1997) of The Lodge of the Nine Muses № 1776, a Traditional Observance Lodge in the District of Columbia.
In addition to his well-regarded books, his work also appeared in Heredom: The Journal of the Scottish Rite Research Society and Ars Quatuor Coronatorum.
Bro. MacNulty’s literary efforts earned outstanding recognition. In 2008, he was received as a member of London’s prestigious Quatuor Coronati Lodge № 2076, the world’s premier lodge of research. In 2016, he was recognized as a Fellow of the Philalethes Society for his many contributions to the literature of the Craft.
"Brother Kirk was an outstanding man and Mason in every day, and is largely responsible for the renaissance in meaningful Masonic education that we now enjoy," said Philalethes editor Shawn Eyer. "All of us who enjoy the speculative endeavor that symbolism presents are forever in his debt."