A servant's heart
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 2, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Sandra Kerr accepts the North Carolina flag from Sen. Louis Pate during the memorial service for her husband Monday at Madison Avenue Baptist Church.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A memorial table for John Kerr sits at the front of Madison Avenue Baptist Church Monday as the family and friends gather to remember the man who influenced the lives of many.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Phil Baddour delivers the eulogy during the memorial service for John Kerr.
The late John Kerr was remembered Monday not only for his legislative and legal prowess, but for the way he lived his life.
He was the same person whether he was walking the halls of power or among the tables at Wilber's Barbecue or the pews at his church.
Many of those same people, including former Gov. Mike Easley and current and former legislators, filled Madison Avenue Baptist Church to pay their respects to the man who rose to become one of the state's most powerful and influential political leaders.
Kerr, 79, died May 24 at Kitty Askins Hospice Center following a period of declining health.
Kerr had a heart as big as his size and influence, former state Rep. Phil Baddour said in his eulogy.
"As was stated in John's beautifully written obituary, his life was lived in accordance with the Biblical charge that to whom much is given, much is required. And John Kerr enthusiastically accepted that challenge. Big John knew everybody and everybody knew him and loved him.
"He made people smile. He made people feel good about themselves. John genuinely cared about people, and they genuinely cared about him. He was the same person in the Governor's Mansion as he was at Wilber's Barbecue."
Baddour said he got to see firsthand the tremendous respect that people in Raleigh, including Govs. Mike Easley, Beverly Perdue and Jim Hunt, had for Kerr.
They not only respected Kerr, they relied on him, he said.
One of the reasons Kerr was so successful and influential was that he was so affable, so likable, so knowledgeable and so persuasive, Baddour said.
It was just hard to tell Kerr no, he added with a smile.
Kerr touched countless lives, said Dr. Robert Fulkerson, the former state senator's pastor.
That was evident by those at the memorial service, Fulkerson said.
"We come to celebrate that life and that joy and that hope and those memories," he said.
Fulkerson joked that for those who didn't know, Kerr was a Democrat, but added that when Kerr was asked to help, he never looked at party affiliation.
It was telling to look at the messages left on the funeral home website -- they were not from Democrats or Republicans, but people whose lives have been touched by Kerr, Fulkerson said.
Louis Pate of Mount Olive, Senate deputy president pro tempore, on behalf of the state and its people, presented a North Carolina flag and a letter from Gov. Pat McCrory to Kerr's widow, Sandra.
Pate said he was a first lieutenant stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base when he first met Kerr. They were members of the Goldsboro Jaycees also, he said.
Pate said he was lucky enough to have served in the Legislature with Kerr who meant a lot to him.
"He was certainly a joy to work with and was very important to this community and the state," Pate said. "I want to present this flag to you to remind you of the esteem that we hold for John Kerr."
Baddour said he first met Kerr when he returned to Goldsboro to practice law.
Kerr enjoyed the reputation of working hard for his clients and for always conducting himself with a high degree of integrity and in a congenial and jovial manner, he said.
Regardless of the endeavor or cause, Kerr provided untiring and dedicated leadership, Baddour said.
Kerr was elected to the first of three terms in the state House in 1986 before running for the state Senate where he served eight terms.
"I had the good fortune that year (Kerr ran for the Senate) to run for his seat in the N.C. House," Baddour said. "During the eight years I served in the General Assembly, I am proud to say we were close allies and friends."
Serving with Kerr in the Legislature and being on the campaign trail with him was both a "real treat and a real challenge," Baddour said.
"He gave me a lot of advice -- whether I asked for it or not," he said.
Baddour said he and Kerr attended many community gatherings together and that to begin with he called Kerr to ask him if was going to attend an event.
The answer was always yes and Baddour said he finally stopped calling and just showed up.
Kerr was a "big believer," that the key to success for eastern North Carolina was to improve the region's infrastructure, he said.
Also, Kerr's constituent service was "unmatched," Baddour said.
"He would tell everybody he met whether in a restaurant, the grocery store or the country club, 'Call me if I can help,'" Baddour said. "He would take time to listen to a problem of constituents and then do everything that he could to solve the problem."
Kerr would call the appropriate person in state government.
"He would get the top person on the phone and insist that the issue be dealt with," Baddour said. "In fact, he would not get off the phone until he got an answer.
"I remember one time asking John why he was spending so much time on a particular constituent problem. He replied, 'Well Phil, you've just got to help people.' That is what John Kerr was all about. He just wanted to help you. I really believe that was his motivation for serving in the General Assembly for 22 years and giving so much of himself to this state and this community."
And it did not matter to Kerr who needed help -- rich or poor, black or white, he said.
However, Kerr did not accomplish all that he did without a lot of support from family, co-workers and others, Baddour said.
"Most of all Sandra, we thank you," Baddour said, speaking to Kerr's widow. "You, (sons) John, Jim and their wives and your grandchildren. John was all about family. That was the most important thing in the world to him.
"We thank you for sharing John with us and for allowing him to serve his community and his state. You did it because you knew how much John loved what he did. You did it because you knew how important his work was to all of us."