Ken Kerr, C’53, (at center) drove from his home in North Carolina to attend an organ recital given by Olivier Latry (left). Geoffrey Ward (right) organist and choirmaster, arranged the recital, made possible by a fund established by Mr. Kerr. This was the last concert Mr. Kerr attended before his passing.
Kerr bequest establishes organ maintenance fund
It was the Episcopal connection that sent Ken Kerr, C’53, to Sewanee. Kerr’s uncle was an Episcopal priest and his father a lawyer. As a student, the Episcopal church remained a cornerstone of his life. He often played the organ for daily services. And when he wasn’t in All Saints’, Kerr spent a great deal of time at his work study job in Thompson Union, running the Western Union service, renting films that would be shown in the Sewanee Union Theatre.
Kerr came to Sewanee with the intention of becoming a lawyer himself, but the Korean War intervened. Instead, he worked in banking throughout his career, retiring in 1993 to spend more time traveling, playing the organ, and reading.
Yet a big part of Kerr’s life remained helping Sewanee. For years, he was a class agent, and developed a class newsletter, which he mailed out several times a year. In recent years, Kerr has gained new interest in the music programs at All Saints’ Chapel, and, when he passed away last summer, a planned gift established an endowed organ maintenance fund and a recital fund.
“An organ like at All Saints’ requires a lot of maintenance,” explains Geoffrey Ward, organist and choirmaster. “Just last summer, we were not able to play it at one of our services because a small fuse had blown. The Milner organ company had to come in and find the problem and fix it. Just as with a piano, organs need to be regularly tuned.”
For Ward, the recital fund is something he is really excited about. “The recital fund—to which Mr. Kerr contributed during his lifetime—has helped us bring in really wonderful musicians for first-rate concerts. And while Mr. Kerr wanted his gift to focus mainly on benefiting Sewanee students, those concerts have also helped us reach out to the arts communities in Chattanooga, Nashville, and Huntsville.” Ward particularly notes the effect an organ recital can have on young people. “The more you know about one of these instruments, the more fascinated you are with them, and we have even been able to give young children at University Child Care and Sewanee Elementary some really wonderful formative experiences.”
Kerr’s gift was made by naming Sewanee as one of the beneficiaries of his IRA, which meant the estate avoided paying taxes on his charitable distribution. “Adding the University as a beneficiary to his IRA was a simple, tax-effective, way to make this important donation,” explains Allison Cardwell, director of gift planning. Recent changes in the law made by the Secure Act of 2020 provide even more incentive for donors to consider naming the University as a beneficiary. “People who wish to donate to Sewanee (or any other cause) through an IRA have new reasons to consider that method,” says Cardwell, who can be reached at strongertruergifts@sewanee.edu
