Robert S. Kerr (bishop)

Robert Shaw Kerr (August 16, 1917 - November 18, 1988) was seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, serving from 1974 to 1986.

The Right Reverend

Robert Shaw Kerr

D.D., S.T.D.
Bishop of Vermont
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseVermont
In office1974–1986
PredecessorHarvey Butterfield
SuccessorDaniel L. Swenson
Previous post(s)Coadjutor Bishop of Vermont (1974)
Orders
OrdinationSeptember 29, 1943
by James De Wolf Perry
ConsecrationMarch 16, 1974
by John E. Hines
Personal details
Born(1917-08-16)August 16, 1917
DiedNovember 18, 1988(1988-11-18) (aged 71)
Burlington, Vermont, United States
BuriedRock Point Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAmerican
ParentsEdgar John Kerr & Amelia Shaw
SpouseCarolyn Brooks Hill
Children2

Biography

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Kerr studied at Trinity College in Connecticut and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1940. Later he trained at the General Theological Seminary. Upon graduation in 1943, he was ordained deacon on February 28, 1943, by Bishop James De Wolf Perry of Rhode Island in Trinity church, Newport, Rhode Island. He was ordained priest on September 29 of the same year. Kerr served for some time as assistant at Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City. He also served for some time as rector of St John's Church in Barre, Vermont. In 1949 he became rector of Immanuel Church in Bellows Falls, Vermont. He also served as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont. In 1973, Kerr was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Vermont and was consecrated on March 16, 1974. After three months, on June 12, 1974, he succeeded as diocesan. He retired in 1986 and died in Burlington on November 18, 1988, because of a heart attack.

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