Obituary published on Legacy.com by Hughes Funeral Home and Crematory - Daphne on Jul. 11, 2023.
Kerry was born in
Little Rock, AR on June 18, 1952, the youngest child of Bennie and Juanita Carlee. He grew up in various cities and towns in Arkansas, Texas and Alabama before moving to
Pensacola, Florida in 1968, where he attended Pensacola High School. He met his wife, Barbara, there shortly after arriving in town and married her in 1970. He always told her he knew the minute he laid eyes on her that he would marry her. Kerry joined the US Navy in early 1971, went to bootcamp in
Orlando, FL. He graduated from Nuclear Power School in Bainbridge, MD near the top of his class, and served his country honorably, earning the rank of Machinist Mate 1 Class before leaving the military in 1977. He worked for QED in Virginia Beach before moving to the Arlington, VA office of Gibbs and Cox, and then to US Department of Defense (DOD), Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Kerry remained at NAVSEA for 32 years working as a program manager for multiple ship design, build, repair, and acquisition efforts including the USS Inchon, the Carrier of the Future (1 Naval Nuclear Carrier design), USS Cole repair, Riverine and antiterrorist fast attack watercraft and more. Much of his work was Top Secret classified and will remain unknown, but Kerry was sought after for his depth of knowledge and meticulous management skills. During his long and interesting career, Kerry testified before Congress multiple times and traveled the world- once helicoptering out to a carrier at sea to land and check up on a ship design requirement. He provided training sessions on the Euphrates River for fast attack small watercraft to help ensure proper knowledge and skill to use equipment provided for protection of US military personnel and assets. He once also rode upriver in a small boat convoy in the Philippines to check the status of a program in progress. After retiring from his life of DOD adventure Kerry worked for four years for Seark Marine where he designed boats for federal and local government that were used for coastal protection, law interdiction, firefighting and more.
Kerry loved being a dad, and whether attending his son's ballgames or taking his little girls to dance classes, he always wanted to be a part of his children's lives. In his retirement, Kerry decided it was time to catch up on some of the simple things and moved from Northern Virginia to South Alabama to be near Pensacola family. He did the things he could not do during his traveling years. Because he was naturally mechanically inclined, Kerry loved to solve problems, as well as to build and repair literally anything. He seemed to know naturally how and why things worked and his children always called to ask him how to make home repairs and what to do about their car repair issues. Kerry loved to watch old movies, his favorites being any John Wayne movie, Star Wars movies and endless movies about the Korean War and World War II. He also loved to read. Though he was very much a man's man, he also had a sentimental side and would watch any movie Barbara asked him to watch and spent many hours watching what he called girl movies. In addition to taking care of his home and taking Barbara out to shop for what he called pretties. He enjoyed travel and was able to visit his children a few times before he became too ill. Kerry enjoyed listening to music from the 60's and 70's (especially the Beach Boys and Neil Diamond) and spent hours on his iPad listening to many old songs. He loved to go out for breakfast, always his favorite meal, and never met anyone who didn't become a friend.
Kerry was also an avid fisherman and loved saltwater and freshwater fishing alike and wanted nothing more in retirement than to teach his grandsons to fish. He deeply loved all seven of his grandchildren and spoke of them often, but visiting with them and teaching them to fish or do much else was out of the question as he fell ill and required extensive medical care and intervention for the remainder of his life.
Kerry spent the last few weeks of his life in the care of the University of Florida, Shands Hospital, where the doctors and nurses alike loved him. He never complained and hated asking for help. Consideration for others was a strong trait of this kind, honorable, compassionate, tender, giving and genuinely remarkable man. When he knew the end was near he asked to go home to pass. He was being transported from
Gainesville, FL to his home in
Daphne, AL when he went to be with the Lord on July 7, 2023. He didn't want to leave but he was a devout Christian, said he knew he was going home to Heaven and told Barbara he loved her and would wait for her there.
Kerry leaves behind his adored soulmate and wife of 52 years, Barbara (nee' Knoblock), and a family that loved him as deeply as he loved them and will miss him always including his eldest child, Christopher Carlee (Lisa); and daughters, Kimberly Cloke, and Katelyn Shannon (John). He also leaves his beloved grandchildren, Meghan and Ryan Carlee; Eleana, Jonathan Jr., and Evan Cloke; Liam and Evelyn Shannon. He also leaves a sister, Jo Blassingame; brother, Norman Carlee; as well as his mother-in-law, Therese Knoblock' and sisters-in-law, Emma Rose Fry (Lee), Elizabeth Knoblock, and Marcia Garner (Robert); and many nieces, nephews and friends. And he also left what he called his puppies, Max (whom he always called his boy) and Sophie (whom he called his little girl).
Kerry simply loved life and fought to the very end to try to stay just a bit longer. His single last wish was that his family would come together and love one another simply because that is what families do and because, as he always said, in the end they are all each other will have in this life.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 14, 2023, at Spanish Trail Baptist Church, 10999 US Hwy 90, in
Daphne, AL, at 11AM. There will be a time of visitation with the family prior to the service beginning at 10AM. Interment will follow at 2PM at Barrancas National Cemetery, 1 Cemetery Road,
Pensacola, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Kerry's memory can be made to the charity of one's choice OR to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. The process for donation to the PF Foundation is easy – all that has to be done is to go to the website link at https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/PFFTribute/KerryCarlee OR Text PFF Tribute 1334 to 71777. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization with a mission to serve as the trusted resource for the pulmonary fibrosis community by raising awareness, providing disease education, and funding research. All donations to the PF Foundation go directly to these efforts.
Expressions of condolences for the family may be made at www.hughesfh.com. Hughes Funeral Home, 26209 Pollard Road,
Daphne, AL, is assisting the family.