Kathleen Kerr

Kathleen Ann Kerr

December 27, 1947 - April 5, 2020

Kathleen Ann Kerr passed away Sunday, April 5, 2020, after a nearly twenty-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She was 72 years old.
Kathleen was a third generation San Franciscan, born to Eileen and Joseph Kerr; she grew up with sisters Jo Ann and Mary Ellen and brother Joe on Chattanooga Street. Kathleen attended Saint James Girls' School and Immaculate Conception Academy. Kathleen later attended San Francisco State University for a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts, both in English Literature. For twenty-five years Kathleen taught English and English as a Second Language at City College of San Francisco.
Kathleen and her husband Cary Klafter married in 1974 in San Francisco and had three children: Anna, Benjamin and Eileen. In addition to teaching, Kathleen was a talented photographer specializing in portraiture and nature photography. Her work was featured on postcards and posters at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park. As her children grew up, Kathleen volunteered at both the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Asian Art Museum as a docent, where she relished sharing her passion and knowledge with many visitors. Kathleen was a lifelong gardener and she took great joy in her work cultivating an orchard of ancient apple varieties in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. Kathleen was a loving mother, grandmother and aunt as well as a devoted dog mom to her beagle Sandy.
In her fifties, Kathleen embraced Zen Buddhism, and began studying, meditating and attending workshops. Kathleen received Zen Buddhist lay initiation in 2006 at the San Francisco Zen Center and she was given the name Vow Ocean Gentle Way
As her case of Early-Onset Alzheimer's progressed, Kathleen completed the program with the help of her loving sister, Mary Ellen, who has also recently passed.
Kathleen is survived by her husband, Cary, their children Anna, son-in-law Jason and grandchildren Reuben and Naomi, son Ben and his partner Juliette, daughter Eileen, sister and brother Jo Ann and Joseph, dear cousin Jean Ann and other numerous and beloved cousins, nieces and nephews. Her family would like to express a special thank you to Hiroko, a fellow member of the Zen Center whose dedication to Kathleen as she grew ill made Hiroko a member of the family. They would also like to thank the staff of the CPMC Irene Swindells Alzheimer's Residential Care Program and the Coming Home Hospice for all of their loving attention to Kathleen and support to our family. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift to San Francisco Zen Center on this page: https://giving.sfzc.org/kathleen