Rolland D. Kerr
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Rolland Dean Kerr was born on the family farm near Mahaska, Kan., on Oct. 9, 1928, to Robert Henry and Gladys Lillian (Morey) Kerr. He died at CHI St. Vincent hospital in Hot Springs, Ark., on Aug. 1, 2022, at the age of 93.
Growing up on the family farm with his parents and four older brothers, Dean fondly remembered the excitement of the wheat harvest when all of the neighbors and relatives participated. The Morey family gatherings were great fun, especially at Thanksgiving with his aunts, uncles and his cousins.
Dean attended a one-room country school at Centerdale for grades one through six, Mahaska District 73 for grades seven and eight, and then Mahaska Rural High School, where he graduated second in his class of 10 students in 1946. In high school, Dean participated in basketball, plays, music contests and performance banquets, but he also remembered getting a quality education.
A week after high school graduation, Dean started classes at Kansas State University, where he got his initial degree in mathematics in 1949. Right out of college, he took a teaching position in Waterville, Kan., for a year before marrying the love of his life, Lorna Lee Livingston in 1950. The couple then briefly moved to Narka, Kan., soon to return to nearby Mahaska, where Dean taught and coached sports at Mahaska High School. As their family grew, Dean and Lorna relocated to Osborne, Kan., where Dean taught, coached and eventually became principal at Osborne High School. While in Osborne, Dean continued his education at Fort Hays State University, obtaining his Master’s degree in School Administration in 1959. Dean then began the process of working on his EdD in Secondary School Administration, which resulted in moving the family to Columbia, Mo., where he completed his degree in educational administration at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dean taught at UMC until he and Lorna moved to West Monroe, La., in 1976, when Dean became department head of Administration,
Supervision and Foundations in the College of Education at Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana-Monroe).
Dean was highly respected in his field, working with the North Central Association to evaluate high schools in Missouri. He was one of the organizing members of the Louisiana Association of School Executives, served as its president for many years, and was honored by LASE upon his retirement. The University of Louisiana-Monroe named him as a Professor Emeritus upon his retirement. He was proud of the successes his sports teams had, sharing stories with his family of the accomplishments of several of the individuals and groups he coached. Dean wanted to be remembered as a teacher and coach who came to class well prepared and gave his students full measure.
Dean was a loving son, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He especially loved his wife of 69 1/2 years, Lorna, and his four children. He was active in his church in West Monroe, Highland Presbyterian, and his church in Hot Springs Village, the Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines, serving as an elder in both churches. He sat beside Lorna for many years in the churches’ choirs and sang with the Village Men’s Chorus and the Chanticleers and the Senior Edition barbershop quartets in the Village.
He and Lorna greatly enjoyed traveling with their family, striking out on long voyages with the camper in tow to explore from New Mexico to Quebec or backpacking the trails of Colorado and Wyoming. Later, they broadened their horizons by taking trips or cruises, exploring Scotland, Austria, Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Panama Canal along the way. Dean was an avid golfer, playing until he was 89, and a rabid consumer of televised sports, especially collegiate sports. He was also a source of wisdom, dry humor, silly and profound stories, quiet joy and acceptance of all. He loved everything about his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Dean was preceded in death by his wife, Lorna; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Wendall and Vesta, Kenny and Eleanor, John and Edith, and Charles and Mary Jane Kerr; his sisterin-law, Dona and her husband, Kenneth Kennedy, sister-in-law, Carolyn Brown; brother-in-law, Dutch Machamer; his niece, Janet King; and his nephews, Steve Kerr, Richie Kerr and Hoyt Kerr.
He is survived by his daughter, Marla (Terry Lawson) Kerr-Lawson, sons, Michael (Cathy) Kerr, Kerry (Ruth) Kerr and Kelly (Jill) Kerr; five grandchildren, Daniel (Kandis) Kerr, Rebecca (Gregg) Munshaw, Cory Lawson, Robert and Elizabeth Kerr; three great-grandchildren, Colin and Evan Munshaw, and Morrigan Kerr; sisters-in law, Jean (Les) Doran, Joan Machamer, and brother-in-law, David (Mary Jo) Livingston; and numerous nieces and nephews who remember him fondly.
A memorial service will be conducted by the Rev. Bill Bailey at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines, Hot Springs Village, Ark. There will be a reception following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Dean’s name to the Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines, 275 Asturias Drive, Hot Springs Village, Ark., 71909.
The family would like to express their appreciation to the doctors, nurses and staff in the ER and ICU at CHI St. Vincent hospital in Hot Springs, especially Jill in the ER, and Tara and Michael in the ICU. Your kindness towards Dean and his family was immeasurable.