Dvoralyn J. Kerr
Former Tewksbury Council on Aging Board Member
TEWKSBURY: Dvoralyn J. (Thompson) Kerr, age 86, a resident of Lawrence for the past 11 years and a former longtime Charles Drive resident of Tewksbury, passed away at the High Pointe Hospice House in Haverhill on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
She was the beloved wife of Frank S. “Stan” Kerr, who passed away on August 20, 1999.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on October 7, 1936, she was the daughter of the late George H. Thompson, Jr. and the late Marguerite (Lewis) Tompkins.
Dvoralyn was raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She attended local schools and graduated from Druid High School, where she played drums in the marching band. Following high school, she attended Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL, where she was proud to be the head majorette.
Before her retirement, she worked as an electrical technician for the Raytheon Corporation in the Lowell and Andover facilities. She was formally employed as a fingerprint specialist for the FBI in Washington, DC.
Over the years, she enjoyed many hobbies, including painting, quilting, line dancing, wood carving, doll collecting, and entertaining. For 38 years, she enjoyed camping, many of them at Millbrook Campground in Kingston, NH.
Dvoralyn served on the Tewksbury Council on Aging and was an active member of the Tewksbury Golden Age Club and Senior Walk-in Center, where she participated in numerous activities. The Tewksbury Red Hat Society was one of the ways she enjoyed socializing with her many friends.
Her family and friends knew her by many names, including Phrogie, Dee, Joyce, Doris Jean, Grandma, and Nana, yet she was most proud of Mom.
Dvoralyn was the mother of Standolyn Robertson and her husband Jamie, of Los Angeles, CA, Renée Joseph and her husband Adrian, of Westlake, OH, Gary Kerr and his wife Grace, of Methuen and the late James C. Kerr and his surviving wife, Rita Bonazzo-Kerr, of Lawrence. She leaves eleven grandchildren, Adrienne Batla, Seth Ragland, Christopher Kerr, Erik Ragland, Aaron Joseph, Bradley Hudson, Kyle Hudson, Timothy Kerr, Amy Kerr, Sara Kerr, and Zachary Kerr; eight great-grandchildren and many extended family members and friends.
Calling hours are Friday, September 15, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Farmer & Dee Funeral Home, 16 Lee Street, Tewksbury, immediately followed by a remembrance service to be held at the funeral home and interment at Tewksbury Cemetery, 172 East Street, Tewksbury. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Friends of the Elderly, c/o Tewksbury Senior Center, 175 Chandler Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876.