Mark Kirton tributes have poured in since he lost his life to Lou Gehrig’s Disease (AlS) after a lengthy public battle with the disease.
His family issued a statement on his social media account:
— Mark Kirton (@KirtSpeaksALS) August 18, 2025
Former Red Wings forward Mark Kirton died on Sunday at the age of 67 after a seven-year battle with ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Bob Duff’s story pointed out that Kirton never wanted sympathy, and spent his last years raising millions of dollars to for victims to help fight the disease.
ALS is an incurable progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing the loss of muscle control and eventually leading also to the loss of mobility, the ability to eat and speak, paralysis and respiratory failure.
“I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me,” Kirton said in a 2021 interview with the CHL website. Right until the end, even as his body steadily betrayed him, he never allowed his bleak prognosis to impact his outlook on life.
I have known Mark Kirton since his days with the Peterborough Petes. A former @MapleLeafs draft pick went on to a wonderful NHL career. But in 2018 the devastating disease ALS started its hideous attack on this young man’s body that finally took his life this weekend. Marks work… pic.twitter.com/ItNbHA4DkA
— Joe Bowen (@Bonsie1951) August 18, 2025
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