Mrs. Carolyn Reddoch Kerr

Mrs. Carolyn Reddoch Kerr, age 91, a longtime resident of Gulfport, died Tuesday, March 29, 2005 in Gulfport. A native of Luverne, Alabama, she was graduated cum laude from Alabama College at Montevallo (now Montevallo University). Mr. Kerr had been a resident of Gulfport since her marriage in 1940 to Lawton Allen Kerr, Jr., who preceded her in death. Also precededing her were her parents, John Horace Reddoch and Margaret Athey Reddoch; a brother, Charles Dowling Reddoch; and a sister, Sara Reddoch Sutherland. Mrs. Kerr was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Gulfport. She was one of the organizers and charter members of the Gulfport Junior Auxiliary and was a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. She had at one time served as President of the Four Seasons Garden Club and also as Executive Secretary of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. Mrs. Kerr was a past president of Revelers, Gulfport's oldest carnival organization. For many years she served as a Trustee of the Gulfport-Harrison County Library, having been appointed to this Board by Gulfport Mayor Barnett and the City Commmissioners. Mrs. Kerr was active in the restoration of Grasslawn at the time of its purchase by the City of Gulfport, serving on the first Acquisition Committee responsible for finding, selecting, and purchasing the furnishings of the house. For a number of years she was associated with Sernac Galleries, Gulfport, as an interior designer. Mrs. Kerr is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Carolyn Kerr Barnes of Gulfport and Mrs. Allison Kerr Lewis, of Rockwall, TX; three grandsons, Lawton Barnes of Los Angeles, CA, and Brandon and Taylor Lewis of Rockwall,TX; a brother, Col. (Ret.) John H. Reddoch, of Fort Walton Beach, FL; and two sisters, Mrs. Charles C. Ward of Mobile, AL and Mrs. James L. Burton of Clearwater, FL. Visitation will be Friday, April 1, 2005 from 5 until 7 p.m. at Bradford-O'Keefe, 15th Street, Gulfport. The funeral service will be Saturday, April 2, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport where friends may visit 30 minutes before the service. Interment will be in Southern Memorial Park, Biloxi. The family prefers memorials to the First Presbyterian Church of Gulfport, 1214 24th Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501 or the Gulfport Public Library, 1300 21st Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501.