Gerald Kerby

Gerald Ray Jerry Kerby, M.D. Gerald Ray Jerry Kerby, M.D., 80, died June 12 at home in Fairway, KS. Born Oct. 3, 1932, in Wakefield, KS, he had lived in Fairway since 1967. He was a member of the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Medicine for 46 years. Jerry graduated from Wakefield High School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Washburn University in 1954. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kansas in 1958. After an internship at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD, he studied Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, FL. He was stationed as a Flight Surgeon in Alameda, CA, where he completed his service in the U.S. Navy. Jerry returned to the University of Kansas to complete his residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine. He subsequently spent two years as a staff physician doing clinical research, primarily in tuberculosis, at the Milwaukee County General Hospital in Wisconsin. Jerry returned to the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1967, serving as Professor of Medicine from 1976 to the present, where he practiced and taught pulmonary and critical care medicine. During his career, he pioneered multiple aspects of pulmonary medicine still active today and served as a teacher and mentor to innumerable physicians in training. Jerry met his wife, Arlis Bergsten, who was a nurse, at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and they were married in 1958. They have been married for 55 years. He enjoyed golfing, fishing, hunting, cooking, woodworking, travel with Arlis, and spending time with family. He was a long-time member of the St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. He was an Eagle Scout and served as a volunteer physician at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico for more than 20 years. He is survived by his wife, Arlis; two daughters, Dr. Gwendolyn Kerby (Dr. Andrew Fontenot), Denver, CO, and Allyson Kim (Charles Kim), Rye, NY ; a son, Patrick Kerby (Emily Kerby), Tampa, FL; seven grandchildren, Donovan, Johanna and Ella Kerby, Lauren and Alexa Kim, Claire and Will Fontenot; a sister, Lida Ferman; a brother- and sister-in-law, Gene and Yi Bergsten; four nephews and one niece. He was preceded in death by one sister, Sue Ellis. Services for Dr. Kerby will be on Thursday, June 20, at 11 a.m. at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Avenue, Mission, KS. A reception will follow. Dr. Kerby and his wife, Arlis, established a pulmonary fund at the University of Kansas Medical Center. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Gerald & Arlis Bergsten Kerby KU Endowment, 3901 Rainbow, Mail Stop 3012, Kansas City, KS 66160 or to St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Avenue, Mission, KS 66202 (arr. Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri 913.383.9888).