William Byron Kerr

WILLIAM BYRON KERR

William Byron Kerr was born to the late George and Jennie Kerr of Twinsburg, Ohio on December 6, 1932. He attended schools in Twinsburg, followed by college at Kent State University. In 1956 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He continued his education and received a Master's Degree in Education from University of California and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado, and completed numerous U.S. Army courses. Cal. Kerr retired from the Army in 1977 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, then relocated from Denver, Colorado, to Columbia, Maryland, where he accepted the position of Procurement Officer for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. His ensuing positions were Minority Business Specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy, Contract Specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, and Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization/Civil Rights U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which position he filled until his retirement in 1993. His special achievements include being the first Army Medical Department Officer to be awarded a certificate in Contract Manage-ment by the U.S. Army Logistics Management Center; seiected as a delegate to the Citizens Ambassador Program a Delegation to the Peoples' Republic of China; and contributed to the final report by the Presidential Commission on Minority Business Development. He received the Legion of Merit, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal for his service in Vietnam. And upon relocating to Newcomerstown, Ohio, he enjoyed assistant coaching the Newcomerstown Trojans. He leaves to mourn his loss: his wife, Shirley Coker-Kerr; daughter, Leah Marie Kerr, of Los Angeles, California; two sons, William Byron Kerr, Jr. of Columbia, Maryland and Jeffrey Eugene Kerr, of Newcomerstown, Ohio; two grandchildren, Anthony Eugene Kerr and Taslim Maya Kerr. Other family members include two brothers, Charles and Walter, and one sister, Mary E. Sanders all of Cleveland, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his brother, George.