Obituary of Robert D. Kerr

Robert (Bob) Kerr, beloved husband, father, son, brother, teacher and friend, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, March 10. Bob was a cancer warrior. He fought and won many battles with great strength, grace and spirit before succumbing to the foe. He was born in Bay Shore, NY on December 25, 1964. He is survived by his wife of 21 years Bonnie Higgins Kerr, daughters; Rachel and Kylie, siblings; Steven (Mary Ellen) Kerr of Sea Cliff, NY, Christopher (Cindy) Kerr of Frederick, MD, Elizabeth (Paul) Vinas of Trumbull, CT, Margaret (Tom) Acello of Central Islip, NY, parents; Ronald and Carolyn Kerr of Toms River, NJ, father and mother-in-law Charles and Joan Higgins of East Greenbush and brother-in-law Carey (Cindy) Higgins of East Greenbush. He is also survived by nieces and nephews; Laura, Molly, DJ, Jon, Andrew, Kevin and Luke. Bob moved from Long Island to attend SUNY Albany. He loved outdoorlife - fishing, hunting, canoeing, biking, "critter hunting" - also avidly building model airplanes, teaching and spending time with family. Bob worked at LaSalle School for Boys as a perfect until 1996. He took a hiatus from LaSalle, working at Hamilton Press and X-Ray Optical Systems, before returning to LaSalle as a life science teacher in 2003. His passion for learning and sharing his knowledge of science, history, aeronautics - you name it - was just contagious. He has instilled a love of learning not only in his daughters, but countless students, and our world is a better place due to his inspiration. Bob was a member of the Bailey Mountain Fish and Game Club and of the ad hoc Thursday Night Build Group at HobbyTown, USA. His love of all things aeronautic comes directly from his father and grandfather who worked at Grumman and Curtis Aviation respectively. He took great pride in the fact that his father worked on components for the Apollo 13 Mission and planes such as the F-14 and E2C. Bob was thrilled when he had the opportunity to assemble a piece of equiptment for the Mars Rover while working at XOS. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew and loved him. A Memorial Service celebrating Bob's life and legacy will be held on Saturday, March 20th at 4:00 pm at the First United Presbyterian Church, 1915 Fifth Avenue, Troy, NY. In keeping with Bob's wishes another special service will be held in the coming weeks for the students and staff of LaSalle School. Those who wish may make contributions in his memory to LaSalle School for Boys, 391 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203 or to Gilda's Club Capital Region New York, 1 Penny Lane, Latham, NY 12210.