La Rae Kemp was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. As a child she was bright and adventurous. She had big dreams for a little girl of her time. This led her to earn her B.S. degree at University of Colorado, in Boulder. She later became the first African American woman to earn an MD degree from University of Colorado Medical School in 1974. She later earned a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University in New York City. In her second marriage to Tyrone Kemp she joined the US Foreign Service as a physician. As part of the diplomatic corps she worked in many countries including the Congo, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Cyprus, Russia, and Barbados to name a few. She also was the first woman to head the State Department Medical Corp. During her storied career, her faith was central to carrying her through various situations such as providing care to Americans following the many situations such a as the bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, hostage situations in the Middle East, or even medical evacuations of critically ill Americans across war zones. Her fearless faith guided her through all these situations. She even earned a Pentagon Medal of Honor for saving the life of a General and flying across a war zone. She faced challenges head on!
Along with La Rae’s fearless leadership qualities she had a heart for family and people. She always had an open door. She took countless people in for various reasons, even if it was for a few months or years. LaRae raised 7 children and taught her children to dream big as she did. She has multitude of grandchildren and great grandchildren who also have big dreams. She eventually settled in North Texas in retirement with her husband Tyrone and dedicated the end of her life to leaving a legacy to her family. She wrote a book The Still Small Voice recounting her exciting life and how the Holy Spirit directs and protects and plays a major role in bringing us to our destiny. She enjoyed visiting their adult children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, participating in church activities, taking cruises, participating in medical missions abroad, and living one day at a time.
La Rae will always be remembered for leading with compassion and grace. She also had boundless energy that fueled her adventurous spirit. Throughout her worldwide travels she developed lifelong friendships around the world . She enjoyed surrounding herself with all kinds of people, from all walks of life, of any age. She was a loyal friend, mentor to many. She was a generous woman who treated all like family and a mother to many. She loved her family, God’s word, and all people from all cultures. Now she is resting peacefully in heaven, seated with Christ in heavenly places.
La Rae leaves behind her husband of 44 years Tyrone Kemp; her daughters Teri Ciocco, Kimberly Pierce, Tracy Cannon-Smith, her sons Julian Kemp, Nikki Kemp, Nathan Kemp; and a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family, church family and friends.
The Funeral Service will be held at 10 am June 17th at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home and a reception will follow. If you wish to send flowers in honor of La Rae Kemp please contact Lilium Floral Design at 817-589-1566 or http://www.liliumflorals.com
A separate Interment service will follow at a later time in Denver, Colorado for her final resting place.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.6