Phillips H. Kerr, of Holden, Mass., passed away after a fall on March 11, 2023, at the age of 76.
Phil was born on December 11, 1946, in Barre, Vt. He was the son of the Rt. Rev. Robert S. Kerr and Carolyn H. Kerr. He spent his childhood in Barre, Bellows Falls and Burlington, Vt. Phil graduated from Vermont Academy, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and then a master of divinity from General Theological Seminary. He decided not to be ordained and worked in hospital administration. He started his career at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He worked for over two decades at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (now Fletcher Allen Health Care) in Burlington, Vt., where he served as vice president of human resources for much of that time. He then spent the last decade of his career as director of compensation and benefits and served twice as interim associate vice-chancellor for human resources at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., during searches for a new vice-chancellor. While in Vermont, he served on the boards of Champlain College, the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and the Lund Family Center, as well as president of the Vermont Hospital Personnel Association.
Phil is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 53 years, Priscilla S. Kerr; two daughters, Katherine Hodges of Lexington, Mass., and her husband, Matthew Hodges, and a granddaughter Madeleine; Emily Gangi of Newton, Mass., her husband, Thomas Gangi, and two grandsons, Tyler and Eoin; his sister, Elizabeth K. St. James, and her husband, Paul St. James, and a nephew, Robert Benard, and his wife, Alyssa, and four girls.
In his spare time and retirement, Phil was an avid vegetable and flower gardener who enjoyed spending time outdoors and completing home improvement projects around the house. However, he especially cherished his time spent with his family and the cats in his life.
Services will be held on Friday, March 17, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Holden, Mass., followed by a coffee hour. There will be no viewing hours per his request.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in his honor may be made to Rock Point Commons at Rock Point Commons, 5 Rock Point Rd., Burlington, VT, 05408, or online at rockpointvt.org/giving. We ask that you note “Philips Ker Memorial Fund” in the memo so that your gift may be used to for the maintenance of the Bishop’s House and cemetery. (Phil spent many summers of his youth maintaining the property at Rock Point and met his beloved wife there at the age of 15, and it is where his parents lived when his father was Bishop from 1974-1986.)
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St. Holden, MA. To share a memory or offer a condolence please visit milesfuneralhome.com.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2023.