WELLESLEY, MA
Breene Mitchell Kerr, a quiet and self-effacing philanthropist, inventor, geologist, sailor, classic car aficionado and, perhaps most of all, a practical dreamer, died September 2, 2015, at his home in Wellesley, MA. He was 86. At the time of his death, Breene, the son of an Oklahoma governor and U.S. Senator, was chair emeritus of the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, an independent family foundation named for his mother and based in Easton, MD.
The second of four children, Breene was born in Ada, OK. The family moved to Oklahoma City in 1932 where his father, Robert S. Kerr, established himself as one of the most successful wildcatters in the nascent regional oil business. After the elder Kerr was elected the first native-born state governor, Breene spent his later teenage years in the 19-room Governor's Mansion. In 1947, a year before his father was elected to the U.S. Senate, Breene joined the freshman class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was his first time East. And although he came home after graduating from MIT to work at Kerr-McGee Corp., a company his father co-founded, and to start a family, Breene would relocate permanently to the East Coast years later, drawn by a love of boating and a desire to be closer to his alma mater and other institutions he wanted to help.
An astute businessman and investor, Breene founded Kerr Consolidated Inc. in 1969, which was sold in 1996. He also co-founded the Resource Analysis and Management Group in 1969 and served as its senior partner until 1982. After serving a stateside hitch in the U.S. Army, Breene joined Kerr-McGee in 1953 as company geologist and land manager. He took a three-year leave of absence in 1964 to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a deputy assistant administrator under director James E. Webb. He returned to Kerr-McGee as vice president from 1967 to 1969. He chaired the Investment Committee of MIT and served as honorary trustee of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He was a life trustee of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, MA.
Breene was also vitally important in the growth of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation. As an early and significant equity investor and founding member of the Board of Directors for 18 years from 1992-2010, he played a pivotal role in the company's rise from a startup in 1989 to one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the United States.
In 1985 while living in Oklahoma City, Breene and his wife, Sheryl V. "Shery" Kerr, formed the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, a nonprofit philanthropy. The Fund was later moved to Talbot County, MD, where the Kerrs had purchased property outside Easton. Breene served as chairman of the Fund until 2010 when Shery was elected as his successor.Fund trustees named Breene chair emeritus and presented him with a resolution that read, in part: "Breene M. Kerr has distinguished himself as a columnar influence at the Fund where his keen intellect, his clear-sighted vision, and his quiet humor have served as standards for the Board, both as a team and as individuals."
Breene enjoyed pleasure and competitive sailing in Atlantic Coastal and Caribbean waters. In fact, before choosing geology as his major in college, he had wanted to study naval architecture in hopes of becoming a boat designer. His interest in sailing drew him to examine the effects of tides on boats and, upon discovering that available tools fell short of his expectations, Breene turned his impressive analytical skills to improving methods of navigation. He held six patents for nautical and moon clocks that provide detailed information on tides and the moon.
Breene also loved cars. He owned a number of classics and, with another Oklahoman, formed a group of dealerships in the Southwest. An auction of rare and antique automobiles, including many of Breene's, in 1975 drew national headlines for the quality of the vehicles.
At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD, where he was a valued trustee, Breene was the guiding force in establishing the Center for Education and Research, later renamed the Breene M. Kerr Center for Chesapeake Studies. The Center was designed to fashion a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the Chesapeake Bay by uniting perspectives of history, archeology, folklore, economics, and environmental studies.
One of the happiest days in Breene's life was July 9, 1981, when he and Shery Gingrich, who worked for Breene in his Oklahoma City transportation firm, exchanged wedding vows beneath a gazebo overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, California. It was the second marriage for both and the beginning of a lifelong partnership that, among other pursuits, led to the growth of the Grayce B. Kerr Fund as one of the most significant private family foundations in several states.
One of the saddest days was Sept. 30, 2014, when Shery died at age 61 following a lengthy illness. The two had been inseparable, whether in the office in Oklahoma City, at Kerr Fund board meetings, on the water in one of their boats, or at home. Over the years the couple lived in Greenwich, CT, Easton, New York City, Blue Hill, ME, and finally in Wellesley where they moved to be close to daughter Marcy Kerr Yuknat, son-in-law David Yuknat, and grandchildren Anna and Jack of Dover, MA.
Both Breene and Shery were known for their nearly indefatigable devotion to improving the communities where they resided, but they also knew how to relax. In Blue Hill, where they stayed busy overseeing the family philanthropy, gardening, boating, and making certain that a refrigerated outbuilding was well stocked with winter ice cut from a nearby freshwater pond for pre-dinner cocktails, the Kerrs took a "toes up" break every afternoon. They napped.
In addition to the Yuknats, Breene is survived by a brother, William Graycen Kerr of California and Wyoming; a sister, Kay Kerr Adair of Oklahoma; daughter Katherine Kerr Allen of Maryland, and sons Breene Mitchell Kerr. Jr. of California and Bradley Kerr of Oklahoma. He is also survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
An earlier marriage to Frances S. McMillin ended in divorce.
A celebration of the lives of both Breene and Shery will be held Sunday afternoon, October 25, from 2:00 to 5:00, in the Steamboat Building at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD.Friends are requested to carry on the spirit of Breene's altruism by contributing to charities or organizations that are meaningful to them and their communities.
WELLESLEY, MA
Breene Mitchell Kerr, a quiet and self-effacing philanthropist, inventor, geologist, sailor, classic car aficionado and, perhaps most of all, a practical dreamer, died September 2, 2015, at his home in Wellesley, MA. He was 86. At the time of his death, Breene, the son of an Oklahoma governor and U.S. Senator, was chair emeritus of the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, an independent family foundation named for his mother and based in Easton, MD.
The second of four children, Breene was born in Ada, OK. The family moved to Oklahoma City in 1932 where his father, Robert S. Kerr, established himself as one of the most successful wildcatters in the nascent regional oil business. After the elder Kerr was elected the first native-born state governor, Breene spent his later teenage years in the 19-room Governor's Mansion. In 1947, a year before his father was elected to the U.S. Senate, Breene joined the freshman class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was his first time East. And although he came home after graduating from MIT to work at Kerr-McGee Corp., a company his father co-founded, and to start a family, Breene would relocate permanently to the East Coast years later, drawn by a love of boating and a desire to be closer to his alma mater and other institutions he wanted to help.
An astute businessman and investor, Breene founded Kerr Consolidated Inc. in 1969, which was sold in 1996. He also co-founded the Resource Analysis and Management Group in 1969 and served as its senior partner until 1982. After serving a stateside hitch in the U.S. Army, Breene joined Kerr-McGee in 1953 as company geologist and land manager. He took a three-year leave of absence in 1964 to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a deputy assistant administrator under director James E. Webb. He returned to Kerr-McGee as vice president from 1967 to 1969. He chaired the Investment Committee of MIT and served as honorary trustee of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He was a life trustee of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, MA.
Breene was also vitally important in the growth of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation. As an early and significant equity investor and founding member of the Board of Directors for 18 years from 1992-2010, he played a pivotal role in the company's rise from a startup in 1989 to one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the United States.
In 1985 while living in Oklahoma City, Breene and his wife, Sheryl V. "Shery" Kerr, formed the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, a nonprofit philanthropy. The Fund was later moved to Talbot County, MD, where the Kerrs had purchased property outside Easton. Breene served as chairman of the Fund until 2010 when Shery was elected as his successor.Fund trustees named Breene chair emeritus and presented him with a resolution that read, in part: "Breene M. Kerr has distinguished himself as a columnar influence at the Fund where his keen intellect, his clear-sighted vision, and his quiet humor have served as standards for the Board, both as a team and as individuals."
Breene enjoyed pleasure and competitive sailing in Atlantic Coastal and Caribbean waters. In fact, before choosing geology as his major in college, he had wanted to study naval architecture in hopes of becoming a boat designer. His interest in sailing drew him to examine the effects of tides on boats and, upon discovering that available tools fell short of his expectations, Breene turned his impressive analytical skills to improving methods of navigation. He held six patents for nautical and moon clocks that provide detailed information on tides and the moon.
Breene also loved cars. He owned a number of classics and, with another Oklahoman, formed a group of dealerships in the Southwest. An auction of rare and antique automobiles, including many of Breene's, in 1975 drew national headlines for the quality of the vehicles.
At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD, where he was a valued trustee, Breene was the guiding force in establishing the Center for Education and Research, later renamed the Breene M. Kerr Center for Chesapeake Studies. The Center was designed to fashion a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the Chesapeake Bay by uniting perspectives of history, archeology, folklore, economics, and environmental studies.
One of the happiest days in Breene's life was July 9, 1981, when he and Shery Gingrich, who worked for Breene in his Oklahoma City transportation firm, exchanged wedding vows beneath a gazebo overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, California. It was the second marriage for both and the beginning of a lifelong partnership that, among other pursuits, led to the growth of the Grayce B. Kerr Fund as one of the most significant private family foundations in several states.
One of the saddest days was Sept. 30, 2014, when Shery died at age 61 following a lengthy illness. The two had been inseparable, whether in the office in Oklahoma City, at Kerr Fund board meetings, on the water in one of their boats, or at home. Over the years the couple lived in Greenwich, CT, Easton, New York City, Blue Hill, ME, and finally in Wellesley where they moved to be close to daughter Marcy Kerr Yuknat, son-in-law David Yuknat, and grandchildren Anna and Jack of Dover, MA.
Both Breene and Shery were known for their nearly indefatigable devotion to improving the communities where they resided, but they also knew how to relax. In Blue Hill, where they stayed busy overseeing the family philanthropy, gardening, boating, and making certain that a refrigerated outbuilding was well stocked with winter ice cut from a nearby freshwater pond for pre-dinner cocktails, the Kerrs took a "toes up" break every afternoon. They napped.
In addition to the Yuknats, Breene is survived by a brother, William Graycen Kerr of California and Wyoming; a sister, Kay Kerr Adair of Oklahoma; daughter Katherine Kerr Allen of Maryland, and sons Breene Mitchell Kerr. Jr. of California and Bradley Kerr of Oklahoma. He is also survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
An earlier marriage to Frances S. McMillin ended in divorce.
A celebration of the lives of both Breene and Shery will be held Sunday afternoon, October 25, from 2:00 to 5:00, in the Steamboat Building at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD.Friends are requested to carry on the spirit of Breene's altruism by contributing to charities or organizations that are meaningful to them and their communities.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
