Ted was born November 10th 1944 in Hamilton, Ohio to William E. and Doris (Krauth) Kerby. He graduated from Ross High School in 1962 and shortly after was drafted into the United States Army where he served as an MP Sentry Dog Handler at the Nike Missile Base in Wilmington, Ohio. During this time he successfully courted the love of his life, Linda Anderson whom he wed February 25th, 1966 in Hamilton, Ohio; which was also fondly remembered as the coldest day of the year. That same year he purchased a plot of land in Reily Township that became “Kerby’s Hidden Acres” where he pursued his passion for farming, raising livestock and keeping horses. He was proud to call Reily his home. He drove a bus for Reily School district and served on the Reily School PTA as president and was a member and past president of the Reily Historical Society. He was also a member of the Reily Zoning Appeals board as well as serving on the FMHA Board for 9 years.
He was also very active in Butler Counties’ 4-H program where he served as an advisor for 57 years from the time he was only 14. In 1960 he and his father started the Ross Rocking R 4-H club which remained active until 2016. He spent 9 years on the County 4-H committee and served as President of the Butler County Extension Advisory Committee where he helped to establish the county endowment fund. In 1995 Ted was the first person in Butler County elected to the Ohio 4-H Hall of Fame, and in 2012 was given the Ed Zorn Memorial Award recognizing his dedication and volunteerism to 4-H.
In 1991 Ted was elected to the board of trustees for the Southwest Regional Water District. He served on the State Water Board as well and held the position as president of both until the time of his passing. Ted also served on the Pork Producers Board for 9 years, and as president and congressional lobbyist for Farm Bureau and was also a former member of the Miami University C-PAC. Ted worked for the Department of Public Safety as a dispatcher for the Miami University Police for 29 years before retiring in 2000.
He was preceded in death by his wife Linda Kerby, his father William and mother Doris Kerby, cherished nephew Bo Kerby and special friend of the family Carol Schwab. Ted is survived by his 2 sons Matt Kerby and Clint Kerby (Heather Allen), grandson David Lewis, twin sisters Audrey Kerby and Phoebe Kerby, brother Bill Kerby and wife Karen, his closest and best friend Nick Schwab, as well as his beloved significant other Verna Fugate. He is also survived by many nephews and nieces, cousins and friends who although too many to list enriched Ted’s life and made him the happy and content man we all knew. Ted leaves a legacy of volunteerism and dedication to his community.
Visitation will be held at Webb Noonan Kidd Funeral Home on Monday February 18th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm, with the funeral held the following day at 10am. He will then go home to Reily and be laid to rest at the Reily Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to Reily Township Fire and EMS.
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