Kilburn habitually holidayed with his family in Blackpool but was always back in time for Manchester United F.C.'s first match of the football season. He claimed that watching Manchester United win the 1968 European Cup at Wembley stadium was the best day of his life. He took early retirement in 1981 to care for his ailing wife, who was suffering from chronic bronchitis, but she died on 3 August 1981, two weeks before his retirement.