Reverend Steve C. Kerr

Reverend Steve C. Kerr, 95, of Beaumont, passed away Thursday, February 13, 2025, at Harbor Hospice, Beaumont.

Born in Beaumont in November of 1929, Steve was the youngest of six siblings to Steven Carey Kerr and Jessie Bell Whiting Kerr, and he grew up working at places like ABC Grocery Store and the hardware store downtown. He graduated from Beaumont High School and worked as a pipe fitter for the Magnolia Petroleum Corporation before joining the Marine Corps. He served in Korea, earning several honors including a Purple Heart.  After receiving his honorable discharge in 1953, he returned to Beaumont to attend Lamar University, with the goal of becoming a minister.

In 1958, Steve married Bobbie Brown, also of Beaumont.

After graduating from Lamar with a Bachelor’s Degree in sociology, Steve and Bobbie moved to Austin so he could attend Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and lived in the on-campus housing development affectionately known as “the leper colony.” Steve graduated in 1966 and took his first call to serve the First Presbyterian Church in Haynesville, Louisiana that year, remaining there until 1970. He then served in Jennings, Louisiana, where his son Reid was born.

Steve and the Kerrs served in Jennings from 1970 through 1975, then moved to Bonham, Texas, where he served at the First Presbyterian Church through 1983. From there, he served at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Carthage, Texas, through 1987. They served at the First Presbyterian Church in Haskell, Texas, through 1995, when Steve retired.

In 1999, Steve’s granddaughter, Emily, was born.

That retirement didn’t last long, though. After returning to Beaumont, Steve served churches in the Golden Triangle area as an interim and fill-in pastor from 1995 through 2020, serving in Vidor, Silsbee, Orange, and Beaumont before finally retiring from the ministry at the age of 90, due to the pandemic.

Steve is preceded in death by his mother, father, five siblings and their spouses. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Bobbie; son, Reid; daughter-in-law, Kimberly; and granddaughter, Emily.

Over the 95 years of his life, Steve was a minister, Marine, volunteer soccer and baseball coach, gardener, published poet, summer Bible school and church camp counselor, Christmas fudge and Kerr chili maker, dog lover, barber shop quartet singer, fisherman, hole-in-one golfer, Uno card shark, and multiple time fantasy football champion. He loved his family, fresh tomatoes, Westerns, football, and laughter. His soundtrack was everything from the Gaithers to Jim Reeves to Anne Murray. He never met a stranger.

He will be missed by his family, friends, and the churches he served along the way.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Pioneer Presbyterian Church Hunger Fund, 3750 East Lucas, Beaumont, Texas 77708.

A gathering of Reverend Kerr’s family and friends will begin at 12:30 p.m. with his funeral service at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at Pioneer Presbyterian Church, 3750 East Lucas, Beaumont. His interment will follow at Magnolia Cemetery, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.