Samuel Dennis Kerr

11/16/1942 – 1/21/2024

Samuel Dennis and his younger sister Sally were born near Hubbard, Ohio where they lived on the family fruit farm “Kermont Farm.” They lived there with their parents, Sam and Hester Reighley Kerr, and the Kerr Grandparents, Sam and Minnie. Because there were now three in the home with the name Sam, it seemed best that he use his middle name, thus it began…

When Dennis was five the young family moved to Ft Lauderdale and remained there for about 5 years before returning to Kermont Farm. Half sister Nancy often joined them. Life on the Farm was not easy. There was always work to be done, much of which Dennis participated in. He drove the trucks and tractors, bailed hay, and picked, graded and sold the fruit sold from the orchards. In the winter he and Sally helped sell Christmas trees that were grown on the farm. All was not work at this beautiful home, however, with woods to explore and a large pond that provided fun year-round.

Sam and Hester took over Farm ownership and operated the farm while also developing the property as a subdivision, building roads and houses, and selling lots. In 1958 they sold the property and moved back to Ft. Lauderdale. Dennis was a Junior at Ft Lauderdale High, graduating from there in 1960. He moved to Atlanta to attend Oglethorpe University. At Oglethorpe he was an excellent student, majoring in Chemistry. He loved basketball which continued for the rest of his life and served as the team Statistician for 2 years. He was a resident assistant for two years.

Upon graduation in 1964 he joined Corn Products International in Chicago, Illinois, now CPC Int. He first was in the lab using his chemistry skills and then as advisor to various companies that used Corn Products. He excelled due to his technical and people skills.

During that time, he developed his lifelong interest in golf. Most importantly he met his future wife when a group of men from the lab decided to go horseback riding which required a trail guide named Judine Dapper who volunteered on days off as an RN.

In November 1968 Judine and Dennis were married and Dennis was introduced to Judine’s large and welcoming family. They soon moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey where Dennis continued with Corn Products and Judine worked at St Christopher’s Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Horses were now part of their lives. As Dennis commented “I knew I would someday have to move my car to a new state but never thought to also be moving a horse!”

In 1973 little baby Bridget entered the world and their lives changed. Traveling for CPC was no longer an option, so the little family moved to be near Sam and Hester and took over management of Midas Muffler franchises in Atlanta. In 1975 Bonnie was born and in 1982 Sam II joined them and the family was complete. As Sam and Hester thought of retiring Dennis took over the Midas Franchise until retiring himself in 2009. He and Judine continued to travel throughout the Southeast while she successfully competed with their beautiful American Saddlebred Horses and Dennis enjoyed the many golf courses near the show grounds. Life was good.

In 2016 their world came crashing down with Dennis being diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, (PSP) – an Atypical Parkinsonism. At first, he was still able to golf thanks to good golf buddies at Country Club of Roswell, but soon his balance and poor eyesight made it too dangerous.

As hard as that must have been, Dennis never complained, not even when he could no longer speak, easily enjoy a meal, or read a book. He still had his sense of humor. His children and grandchildren were a highlight of his life. Judine was his main caregiver and was thankful for her RN hospital experience. Bridget and Tony with their children Teresa, Mary Claire, Thomas, Catherine and Dominic; Bonnie and Francisco with son Dylan; and Sam and Sarah with children Reagan and Bobby were with him throughout. Dennis was content and calm thanks to the wonderful people at Longleaf Hospice and caregivers from Family Private Care. On January 21, 2024 Dennis breathed his last, Judine by his side.

Visitation at H.M. Patterson and Son Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Rd.NE Friday Feb 9 from 6-8 pm. Funeral at St Andrew Catholic Church, Saturday Feb 10 at 10:30am, private interment at Arlington Memorial Park following the funeral.

Donations in his memories may be made to CurePSPS (https://give.curepsp.org) or the Dup15q Alliance (http://dup15q.org)