Obituary of Jane Kerr

Jane O'Connor Kerr, 101, died peacefully in her Tucson home on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. She was a pioneer in women's leadership of the fine arts and cultural institutions of Chicago and Illinois, and served for a generation under three governors on the Illinois Arts Council, whose committee on dance she chaired. Former Mayor Jayne Byrne appointed her to the Chicago Arts Council. During her arts-volunteer career in Illinois, Jane O'Connor served as the founding president of the Chicago City Ballet and president of Ruth Page's Ballet. Additionally, her involvement included participating in the creation of the Museum of Contemporary Art and as one of its earliest board members; the Education Committee of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Arts Club; chair of Young People for the Arts; and Lyric Opera of Chicago, with especially close ties to its co-founder and guiding star Carol Fox. Jane was devoted to and closely associated with the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the nation's oldest outdoor music festival. She was a member of the Festival's executive committee and a life trustee, as well as a founding member and past chairman of its Women's Board. Civic involvement reflective of her passion for the arts, education and social justice included: President of the Catholic Interracial Council of Chicago, member of the DePaul University Women's Board, president of the Library of International Relations, gubernatorial appointee to the State of Illinois Museum Board, and member of the Visiting Committee of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. During more than thirty years of residency in the Southwest, she was a frequent volunteer in the art communities of Taos, New Mexico, and Tubac, Arizona, where she was president of the Tubac Center of the Arts. Jane Kerr was throughout her life an extraordinarily engaging personality, who enjoyed many close, intimate friendships. She loved to celebrate life with her friends in Arizona, especially at the Tucson Country Club. Jane was married for more than 50 years to legendary Chicago television news commentator Len O'Connor, who died in 1991. Together they lovingly raised five children, who with their families survive her: John J. of Chicago; Paul M. (Lynda) of Chicago; Mary Margaret of Tucson; William A. (Jane) of Riverside, IL; and Leonard J. (Tessa) of Woodinville, WA. In addition to her five children, she is survived by dearly loved grandchildren Patrick (Katherine) O'Connor of Bethesda, MD; Will O'Connor, Emily O'Connor and Kathleen O'Connor of Riverside, IL; Janae (Aaron) Hoskin of Monroe, WA, and Jerry (Lauren) Platt of Snohomish, WA; Lindsey Simon and Douglas (Sandy) Simon of Chicago, IL; and by 6 great grandchildren. She was blessed by a late in life marriage to Donald R. Kerr of Tucson, who passed away in 2000. She is survived by her loved stepchildren and their families: Donald (Jessie) Kerr, Jr., of Tallahassee, FL, and Karen (Michael) Ashurst of Tucson. She had a flair for furniture and fashion; she did graduate work in Decorative Arts at the University of Chicago, and a number of her dresses and signature hats are in the Chicago History Museum costume collection. She had an unerring eye for the 'next thing," being a step ahead on the Mass in English, the popular arts of Spanish New Mexico, and even Gucci. Jane organized a liturgical art show in Winnetka, Illinois, in the late 50s; later pulling together for Ravinia shows on Native American chiefs' blankets, Eskimo, and American folk art. Christened Helen Jane as the first and longest surviving of Martin and Elizabeth Regan's six children in Chicago, Illinois, she was affectionately called Jane for most of her life. She was devout in and centered on her Catholic faith, especially valuing her membership and involvement with the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson. In the 50s and 60s, she was active in the ecumenical movement and the modernization of the Church's arts and liturgy prior to the Second Vatican Council. Her energy and intelligence, her devotion and love will be missed but never forgotten by family, friends and those fortunate enough to have known her. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas will celebrate her Mass of Christian burial at St. Thomas the Apostle chapel in Tucson. She will be interred beside her husband Leonard J. O'Connor at the Chicago Archdiocese's Calvary Cemetery.