Mrs. Mary Youn Kerr's Obituary
Celebrating the Life of Mary Kerr
Born on August 19, 1922 in Kapahi (Kauai), Hawai’i . She continued living in Hawaii until 1945 when she moved to Houston as a military war bride. She remained in the area (Pearland) until her death.
Her parents were Dai Won Youn and Beatriz Gomez. She was the seventh of twelve children. She was preceded in death by two children, Mary Ann Smith and Charles Smith III, of Pearland, TX. She is survived by four grandchildren, Larry Masuno, Jr (Pearland), Kerriann Adams (Pearland), Charles “CB” Smith IV (Dallas) and Chris Smith (Austin) and six great-grandchildren. She married William “Bill” Kerr in 1954, who preceded her in death.
Mary graduated from Kaua’i High School in 1941 and attended University of Hawai’i on Oahu until Pearl Harbor was attacked. After the attack, the military occupied most of the buildings on campus. As an eye witness of Pearl Harbor, Mary often had speaking engagements where she would be asked to share her story. Mary began her government career in 1942 as a Clerk-Stenographer in the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i. She transferred to the U.S. Air Force as a Procurement typist in 1951. From 1955 to 1960, she was a Supervisory Purchasing Agent at Ellington Air Force Base, and in 1960, she was appointed as a Procurement Officer. She was the only woman staff officer at Ellington Air Force Base at the time. In the early 1970s, Mary was appointed as a Federal Woman’s Program Coordinator at Ellington. Mary then transferred to NASA, Johnson Space Center as a full time Federal Woman’s Program Coordinator at 52 years old. She retired from NASA after 30 years of Federal service. In her retirement, she formed a corporation for real estate investment purposes.
She was active in the Pearland United Methodist Church, Pearl Harbor Survivors’ Association, Eastern Star, Hawaiian Club, Mary Martha Circle, Christian Women’s Club, National Association of Retired Persons, American Business Women’s Association. Mary enjoyed playing the ukulele, dancing, painting and traveling, and spending time with her family.
Memorial donations may be made in her honor to First United Methodist Church.
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