1914
Francis
2012
Francis Kenneth Kerr
May 22, 1914 — July 19, 2012
FRANCIS KENNETH KERR passed away on July 19, 2012 in his home in Beaufort, NC, with family members by his side, following a brief illness. He was 98 years old.
“Frank” and his wife Mary Louise Niss Kerr raised two daughters together: Jennifer Ellen Kerr of Oslo, Norway, and Kathleen Wallace Kerr Schurdevin of Beaufort, North Carolina. Other surviving family are son-in-law Laszlo Kerr of Oslo, Norway; son-in-law Mark Schurdevin of Beaufort, North Carolina; and grandson Imre Kerr of Trondheim, Norway. He is preceded in death by: his parents; brother William Krogvig Kerr; and foster brother Eugene Sheldon “Gene” Leggett II.
Frank was born on May 22, 1914 in Montreal, Canada to William Landles “Jock” Kerr and Ellen Johanne Krogvig Kerr. His father having been disabled as a result of his military service during the Great War, Frank was raised with the help of his parents' closest friends, Dagmar Carlson “Tex” Leggett and her husband Eugene Sheldon “Red” Leggett. In 1925 the Leggetts, their new son Gene, and Frank moved to Washington, D.C.. Through Frank's growing years and beyond the Leggett family were as close and important to him as his own family.
With the encouragement and support of the Leggetts and his mother, Frank developed his artistic talents, attending the National School of Fine and Applied Art during his high school years. In 1937, while attending George Washington University, Frank's archeological research design project, “An Early Christian Basilica”, won first place medal in the annual Beaux Arts Institute of Design competition, a nationwide competition with thousands of entries. In 1938 he received Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from GWU. After beginning his architectural career with the federal government, Frank relocated in 1947 to Minneapolis, Minnesota to work in private practice. On his first day there, he met Mary Niss, was smitten, and they married three months later.
Frank's architectural career in Minnesota included a large body of commercial, institutional, and residential buildings, and town planning. His residential designs in the mid-century modern style are well represented in the “architectural time capsule” of the University Grove neighborhood of Saint Paul.
A lifelong watercolor artist, Frank was very active in the Minnesota Artists Association. Following his retirement in 1985, he found more time to paint, and the opportunity to travel with Mary in Europe and North America resulted in a prodigious number of paintings which chronicled those travels.
In early 2010 Frank and Mary moved from Minneapolis to Beaufort, NC, to be near their youngest daughter, Kathleen. The move made it possible for them to continue to live in their own home, and made possible one of the high points of Frank's later years: a retrospective solo exhibit of his artwork. The show, featuring paintings and drawings in various media spanning eight decades, hung at the Beaufort Art Center for over a month in late 2011.
A Celebration of Life and an art exhibition will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2:00 pm at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC, 28516. For further information please call 252-725-7162. A memorial donation, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Americans For The Arts, www.americansforthearts.org
“Frank” and his wife Mary Louise Niss Kerr raised two daughters together: Jennifer Ellen Kerr of Oslo, Norway, and Kathleen Wallace Kerr Schurdevin of Beaufort, North Carolina. Other surviving family are son-in-law Laszlo Kerr of Oslo, Norway; son-in-law Mark Schurdevin of Beaufort, North Carolina; and grandson Imre Kerr of Trondheim, Norway. He is preceded in death by: his parents; brother William Krogvig Kerr; and foster brother Eugene Sheldon “Gene” Leggett II.
Frank was born on May 22, 1914 in Montreal, Canada to William Landles “Jock” Kerr and Ellen Johanne Krogvig Kerr. His father having been disabled as a result of his military service during the Great War, Frank was raised with the help of his parents' closest friends, Dagmar Carlson “Tex” Leggett and her husband Eugene Sheldon “Red” Leggett. In 1925 the Leggetts, their new son Gene, and Frank moved to Washington, D.C.. Through Frank's growing years and beyond the Leggett family were as close and important to him as his own family.
With the encouragement and support of the Leggetts and his mother, Frank developed his artistic talents, attending the National School of Fine and Applied Art during his high school years. In 1937, while attending George Washington University, Frank's archeological research design project, “An Early Christian Basilica”, won first place medal in the annual Beaux Arts Institute of Design competition, a nationwide competition with thousands of entries. In 1938 he received Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from GWU. After beginning his architectural career with the federal government, Frank relocated in 1947 to Minneapolis, Minnesota to work in private practice. On his first day there, he met Mary Niss, was smitten, and they married three months later.
Frank's architectural career in Minnesota included a large body of commercial, institutional, and residential buildings, and town planning. His residential designs in the mid-century modern style are well represented in the “architectural time capsule” of the University Grove neighborhood of Saint Paul.
A lifelong watercolor artist, Frank was very active in the Minnesota Artists Association. Following his retirement in 1985, he found more time to paint, and the opportunity to travel with Mary in Europe and North America resulted in a prodigious number of paintings which chronicled those travels.
In early 2010 Frank and Mary moved from Minneapolis to Beaufort, NC, to be near their youngest daughter, Kathleen. The move made it possible for them to continue to live in their own home, and made possible one of the high points of Frank's later years: a retrospective solo exhibit of his artwork. The show, featuring paintings and drawings in various media spanning eight decades, hung at the Beaufort Art Center for over a month in late 2011.
A Celebration of Life and an art exhibition will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2:00 pm at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC, 28516. For further information please call 252-725-7162. A memorial donation, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Americans For The Arts, www.americansforthearts.org
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