Eastern N.C.'s champion
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on May 31, 2015 1:50 AM
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Former state Sen. John Kerr during a pensive moment in the North Carolina Legislature. Kerr, who died May 24, spent decades serving eastern N.C. in the state House and Senate. He was known for his dogged determination and his dedication to the people of Wayne County, whom he felt it was his mission to serve.
John Kerr III towered over the Wayne County political scene for more than two decades. A state representative and later a powerful senator, Kerr never met a stranger. A man who loved to talk, he was friendly and truly interested in the concerns of his constituents.
Kerr, 79, who died May 24 at Kitty Askins Hospice Center, is being remembered by friends and former legislators for setting a high bar for others in the General Assembly and for championing causes whose impact on the state in general, and life in eastern North Carolina in particular, will be felt for generations.
"John Kerr was one of the biggest men that ever served in the North Carolina Legislature -- both in size and in influence," former Gov. Jim Hunt said. "Much of the progress that our state has made during the last three decades has been due to his leadership.
"The Kerr family has worked at every level of America to build our state and country, and I am thankful for John's strength and vision as he led North Carolina forward."
Earlier last week, Sen. Don Davis of Snow Hill announced on the Senate floor Kerr's death and provided a brief history of his accomplishments as a state legislator and that he came from a long line of public servants.
Born in Warrenton, Kerr was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, president of the junior class, treasurer of the student body and president of the Order of the Grail.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, Kerr attended the University of North Carolina Law School, receiving a Juris Doctorate with honors in 1961.
He was a partner in the law firm of Warren, Kerr, Walston, Taylor, and Smith, LLP.
Kerr, a Democrat, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1986, serving three terms before being elected to the state Senate in 1992 where he served another eight terms.
"If you asked John Kerr why was he doing this, why was he serving in the General Assembly, he'd say, 'I just want to help people. I just want to help people,'" former state Rep. Phil Baddour Jr. said. "That sounds just like a simple thing, but John Kerr really meant it. He loved Wayne County, and he loved Wayne County's people. He just wanted to do anything that he could to make life better for the people in Wayne County.
"If a constituent would call him about anything, John Kerr was all over it. Of course he became a real force in the General Assembly, particularly while he was in the Senate as chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He was one of the most powerful members of the General Assembly."
Kerr was well-respected for his intellect and his knowledge of the workings of state government, Baddour said.
"He was respected as person who could get things done," he said. "He would get things done."
Kerr enjoyed a reputation for attending "everything" that was going on in his district, Baddour said.
"He would make it difficult for the rest of us politicians because John was going to be there," Baddour said. "And if you weren't there, your absence would be conspicuous because he was there. There is no question about he never missed anything.
"He set a high bar for everybody who served with him, both in constituent service and in being present at everything that was going on in his district. He was a mentor to me. I followed him in the House. The entire time that I served in the House he was in the Senate. We were close friends and allies in everything, really."
Kerr's legacy of service will be felt for generations, for example, the new Cherry Hospital, Baddour said.
"He was a big champion for roads," Baddour said. "All of the roads around us that have been built over the years -- (U.S.) 117 north and south."
Wilber Shirley, owner of Wilber's Barbecue and patriarch in the Wayne County Democratic Party, said he will miss his friend.
"He was a terrific guy in my dealings with him, and I have put up enough (political) yard signs that I still have blisters on my hands," he said.
But the man, not the politician, is whom he will miss, Shirley said.
"I always got a great kick out of him eating out here. He would do anything in the world for you. He was boisterous -- he was Big John. He had a good heart. He had a heart that was bigger than he was. I cherish him as one of my friends. We worked together in the Democratic Party. He was always cooperative in whatever you were trying to do."
Kerr was always willing to help, whether he was in Goldsboro or Raleigh, Shirley said.
"I will say this, he did a tremendous amount of good things for Wayne County, and eastern North Carolina for that matter," Shirley added.
Shirley said he does not think that people realize all that Kerr had done or the many things that he had done to help people that the public was never made aware of.
"I don't know what all you can say about him," he said. "People can ramble on and on about him, but to come down to the nitty-gritty, he was the kind of individual to be what I call a friend of mine."
Kerr was also a good lawyer, said Lindsay Warren, senior law partner with Warren, Kerr, Walston, Taylor, and Smith, LLP, and a former state senator himself, who hired Kerr out of college.
"He had a good legal education and he grew up in a family of lawyers," Warren said. "We didn't make a mistake in hiring him. He had a very good legal mind. He caught on quickly to things.
"He was an easy-going person. He developed friends easily. He was happy. You never heard him complain. He liked politics. He got that from his father and grandfather, I think. He stepped out in front. He was a talker. He was candid about the issues he was interested in. He kept up with what was going on, especially after he'd been in the General Assembly for a while."
Warren said Kerr had a very good mind and was a good student.
"He liked what he was doing and stayed on top of things," he said. "He was a good lawyer for our firm. He had a likable personality.
"He had a good legal mind and that helped a great deal. I knew John was very quick on the trigger. He really wanted to go to the Legislature, and once he got there, he really enjoyed it. He got good assignments, finance and appropriations, and he did a good job for the people of Wayne County. He was a natural at it. He was personable. But he wasn't the kind of guy who wanted to take credit. He wanted to be in on what was going on, but it didn't matter to him who got credit. That was enough for him.
"I miss him."
Kerr was an "enigma," said former attorney for the City of Goldsboro Harrell Everett, who went to law school with Kerr and was a longtime friend.
"He was the one and only man that could be John Kerr," Everett said. "He was a very caring person for all people in all stations of life.
"He was a very caring legislator. It was not so much the party with him. It was more for the people he represented from Wayne County."
Kerr was tenacious and knew how to get things done, he said.
"John knew more people .... People he didn't know, he'd come right up to them and talk, to see if there was anything he could do for them," Everett said. "He wanted to hear from people in the county. That was his motivation."
Former state Sen. Charlie Albertson of Duplin County had an office near Kerr's in the Legislative Building.
"I considered John Kerr one of the best legislators I knew," he said. "He was thoughtful and committed, and he knew his stuff. He had a big heart, and he loved his state. Before a committee vote, he'd give everybody on the committee and even in the audience, a chance to comment, before he'd take a vote."
Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh, who served with Kerr in both the House and Senate, recalls sitting in Kerr's living room and talking about different topics during the 1990s.
"Once you got him started, he would follow through on stuff," Blue said. "I thought he did a great job. When we heard, I knew John had been sick, certainly our thoughts and prayers went out to Sandra and the rest of the family. I knew them all.
"Over the 20 plus years that John was in the Legislature, I guess we overlapped all but about three of those. John's dedication to the state and his tenacious efforts to ensure that the resources of the state were first well-preserved, but secondly, allocated in a manner that addressed the real needs of the state, I think were his hallmarks."
Kerr was the "most doggedly determined" person to get U.S. 70 to be four-laned and bypass these town along the way to get direct access to the coast, he said.
"(U.S.) 70 is where we put a lot of effort and it is slowly coming together," Blue said.
Kerr was also champion of the Global TransPark in Kinston and the economic development of eastern North Carolina, Blue said.
"Of course he built his reputation as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee -- looking at the state's tax policy and questions of fairness," he said. "I thought he did an exceptional job for his constituency and the citizens of North Carolina."
It is difficult now for people to have the "staying power" that Kerr exhibited and still remain engaged in a career because of the time demands of serving in the General Assembly, he said.
"I think John represents a kind and quality of legislator that is rapidly disappearing -- somebody's whose real focus is on their job, but takes all of the time required to make sure from a part-time legislator's perspective that you are giving high-quality, well-informed service for your constituents," Blue said.