KERR-BAINE

Excerpts from obituary published by Houston Chronicle on 5/21/2008:

Baine Perkins Kerr, who died in Houston on 5/20/2008, was born on August 24, 1919 in Rusk, Texas.  He graduated from high school at the age of sixteen and then attended the University of Texas.  He next graduated in Spring 1942 with an LLB from the University of Texas Law School.  Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1940, he was immediately called to active duty after Pearl Harbor.  In October 1942 he sailed with the 6^th Marine Regiment for Guadalcanal.  Though wounded at Guadalcanal, he recuperated at a Navy Hospital in New Zealand and afterwards participated in the Marine amphibious assaults at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, and Tinian.  At the end of World War II he returned to Houston with the rank of Major.

In Houston, Kerr joined a law firm where he practiced corporate and securities law and became a partner.  In addition to his innovative work as a corporate lawyer, he played an important role in Rice University’s successful challenge to racially discriminatory provisions of its founder’s will.  He joined the board of directors of Pennzoil Company in 1964 and in 1977 was named President and Chairman of the Executive Committee.  In addition to his administrative affiliation with the University of Texas, he was a long-time member and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation which oversees the National Museum of the Pacific War.  In 2004 his book autobiography “Only A Khaki Shirt – A Memoir of the Pacific War” was published by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation.  In the 1950, Kerr became a business associate of George H. W. Bush which developed into close family ties during remainder of their lives.  In 1973 Kerr declined the chairmanship of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kerr is survived by his wife of 65-years, four children, and thirteen grandchildren.   He has been buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)