Ernest "Guy" Kerby Jr.

1928 - 2023

Ernest "Guy" Kerby Jr. passed away on Dec. 2, 2023.
Ernest "Guy" Kerby Jr. was born in Cross City, Fla., on the ninth of October, 1928. He took the regular Dixie County High School course schedule, played in the band, coronet, played sports and graduated in late May, 1946. Guy joined the Army in June, went through paratrooper training, and served overseas in Italy. He was discharged in June of 1948.
Guy entered Florida State University that fall and graduated with a degree in Business Administration and Air Force Commission in May of 1952.
In the meantime, Guy and Betty Jo Chewning had married in Cross City on June 30, 1950. Their first child was born in Cross City on Sept. 10, 1951. Guy's first Air Force assignment was to Warner Robins AFB, Georgia in July 1952.
He subsequently took navigation training at Harlingen AFB, Texas, and upon graduation, taught navigation at Ellington AFB, Texas. The young family separated from the Air Force in September 1957 and returned to Cross City. He operated a small sawmill for a little over two years. In 1959, the Air Force asked Guy if he would like to return to active duty, which he did in November. Again, they reported to Harlingen where Guy resumed teaching navigation. Their second daughter had been born in Harlingen on June 10, 1954, and a third was to be born there on Oct. 9, 1960.
Their next tour of duty was to a missile unit in 1961 followed by a one-year tour in Germany. They returned to the U.S. in 1964, where Guy taught AFROTC at the University of Kentucky. Their son was born in Lexington in October, 1965. Betty and the children lived in Cross City from 1967 to 1968 while Guy was in Taiwan and then they were off to Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Guy separated from the Air Force in October 1972 and retired from it in June 1973.
Upon separating from the Air Force, Guy was employed by Florida Junior College some three weeks later. During an 18-year span, he first directed a Veterans Program and ended as the director of Student Financial Aid and Admissions in 1990. They continued to live in Jacksonville until October 2006 when they moved to their home in Tiger, Ga. While in Jacksonville, Fla., Guy and Betty both taught Sunday School class at First Baptist Church. Betty was also very active in sewing and quilting circles. She passed away in January 2009 and was buried in the family plot in the Cross City Cemetery.
Guy is survived by their children Teresa Lynn Dotherow, Montgomery, Ala.; Karen Ann Thompson, McKinney, Texas; Jan Elaine Lazenby, Richmond, Va.; and Guy Charles Kerby, Nashville, Tenn.; and their families.
A visitation will be held at Beck Funeral Home on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. A graveside service will be held at Cross City Cemetery in Cross City, Fla., on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.
Beck Funeral Home, in Clayton, Ga., is in charge of the arrangements and is honored to serve the family of Ernest "Guy" Kerby Jr. If there are any questions, please call 706-782-9599. An online Memorial Register Book is available at www.beckfuneralhome.com.
The Clayton Tribune
Dec. 14, 2023