Kay Kerr at 2010 Reunion
Wife of Jean Kerr [James Andrew Hewitt]
Jan. 2, 1925 – May 11, 2019
Longtime Lake Oswego and West Linn resident Catherine Joan (Wollett) Kerr passed away May 11, 2019. Services will be at 10:30 a.m., June 8, 2019, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Oswego. A funeral Mass will be followed by lunch in the church hall.
Catherine, “Kay,” was born Jan. 2, 1925 in Portland, to Frank Cepulo Wollett and Matia (Marzic) Wollett, Croatian immigrants. Her first six years were in a logging camp in Cathlamet, Wash. Kay graduated from Grout Elementary and Franklin H.S. in Portland and attended OSU. She worked in the shipyards during World War II. For 30 years, she worked for the Veterans Hospital, taking time off to have her five children Bruce (Renee), Barbara (Gary), Bryan (Katherine), Bradley and Brent (Shanna). At the VA Mental Hygiene Clinic, she was commended twice for handling dangerous patients – once for disarming a patient with a gun.
Catherine was preceded in death by her husband, Jean Kerr, Jan. 6, 2019. Kay was widowed early in life. Her first husband Ernest “Lucky” Williams blessed her with her first born, Bruce. Catherine is survived by her children (the “five Bs”); 10 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; her sister; and many nieces and nephews.
Kay loved her flowers, garden and the woods on her land in West Linn, which became Robinwood Park. She was Cub Scout den mother and Bluebird leader, drove “taxi” and brought refreshments to all Little League games and was a spirited cheerleader.
Upon retirement, Kay co-founded the West Linn Senior Center; was active with the Lake Oswego Neighborhood Action Coalition; Oswego, West Linn, and Lake Grove garden clubs; Lake Oswego Senior Center computer group; N.W. Scots Guards; and Portland’s Hollywood Senior Center. She loved travel from camping at Neskowin beach to China or Croatia.
Catherine inspired so many, innately with her giving, can-do, interminable spirit and love of living. She was engaged and active to her last day.
Instead of sending flowers, the family suggests bringing a single purple, or other, flower and making donations to Catholic Charities or West Linn, Lake Oswego, or Hollywood Senior Centers. Friends can help with a memorial wildflower garden for Kay at Robinwood Park. Details at: www.AquaHabitat.com/Mom