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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, May 9, 2018
OBITUARIES
KERNER —Sherman
Kerner, 89, of Florence, passed
away, after a short illness, May
4, 2018. His loving son, Dr.
Stephen Kerner, was at his side.
Sherman is survived by his
four children: Ricki Kerner,
Sheila Evans
(Kerner),
Douglas
Kerner and
Dr. Stephen
Kerner; his
l o v i n g
daughter-in-
law,
Beth
Kerner; four
Sherman
grandchil-
Kerner
dren: Louis
Kerner, Isaac
Kerner, Tristan Kerner and
Micah Kerner; and his wife of
60 years, Lenore.
Sherman’s parents, Louis
and Esther, along with his
brothers, Bobby and Harold,
preceded Sherman in death.
Sherman was born July 10,
1928, in Minneapolis, Minn.
He met his wife, Lenore, while
they were both volunteering for
an organization that supported
in-patients at the local mental
health hospital.
Sherm and Lenore became
friends. When Lenore’s date
stood her up for the annual
charity ball for the organization
(which Lenore had organized),
Lenore’s sister arranged for
Sherman to be Lenore’s date
for the evening.
That night changed their
lives and they soon married.
Shortly after Sherm and
Lenore married, and during the
Korean War, Sherm was drafted
into the Army. He went to Ft.
Riley, Kan., for boot camp and
was soon joined by Lenore,
who was pregnant with their
first child.
Instead of being shipped out
to Korea, Sherm was sent to
Germany for the remainder of
his assignment. Sherm served
as an army cook and later took
on the role as head cook for the
family. Sherm was a great cook
but could never abandon the
tendency to cook too much
food.
After Sherm’s honorable dis-
charge from the U.S. Army, he
and Lenore decided to move
from the chilly winters in
Minnesota
to
Southern
California. With their two chil-
dren Ricki and Sheila in tow,
Sherm and Lenore first settled
into an apartment in North
Hollywood. Sherm got a job as
a clerk for Occidental Life
Insurance; two more children,
Doug and Stephen, followed.
Sherm worked his way up
the corporate ladder at
Occidental, becoming assistant
vice president, executive vice
president and eventually
President of First Transamerica
Life Insurance Company,
which was Transamerica’s first
foray in selling insurance in the
State of New York.
Sherm loved his work and
the people that he worked with.
Sherm and Lenore traveled the
world during Sherm’s many
years of employment with
Transamerica.
Sherm retired in 1989 and he
and Lenore moved to Las
Vegas, Nev. One notable
Sherman story from their years
in Las Vegas is that he once
wrote to the president of an
unnamed casino to complain.
The reason: He had not won
anything at their casino after
spending quite a bit of money
WEATHER DATA
D ATE
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
H IGH
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
55
60
54
57
67
58
62
Rainfall
Month: 0.04”
L OW R AIN
40
37
42
46
45
48
45
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.03
0.00
Week: 0.04”
Year: 33.01”
Courtesy of Roger Cunningham
there.
Sherm, along with his wife
Lenore, were active volunteers
for various charitable and non-
profit organizations during the
course of their lifetimes.
Sherm specifically volunteered
for mental health organizations,
SCORE, and was president of
various religious temples he
and Lenore belonged to.
After retirement, Sherm and
Lenore moved to Florence in
2008 to be closer to their son
Stephen and his wife, Beth,
along with their two children,
Louis and Isaac.
Sherm and Lenore were very
happy spending time with their
children and grandchildren.
Sherm was highly respected,
smart and accomplished. He
loved riding and taking care of
horses. He also loved classical
music. Not to be overlooked is
Sherm’s love of a good deli,
where he would order the most
exotic item on the menu — and
sweets, of course.
Sherm was also extremely
funny (intentional and uninten-
tional). He loved a good joke
and was able to laugh at him-
self. He was wise and loved to
help and counsel family and
friends. He loved his family
and was a beloved father and
grandfather.
Sherm had only one fear:
Running out of chocolate (a
favorite).
Although Sherm’s body was
failing physically, his memory
was excellent. Recounting old
family stories, including stories
from his work days, his world
travels and sharing Yiddish
words/phrases were a favorite
pastime.
The Kerner family wishes to
thank all of the medical staff
and caregivers at Regency
Rehabilitation for their loving
care of Sherman for these many
years.
Sherman always expressed
that he loved living at Regency
and was grateful for the excel-
lent care that he received.
A service and celebration of
Sherman’s life will be held
Thursday, May 10, at noon at
Burns’s Memorial Chapel.
All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, a donation
can be made to the Regency
Rehabilitation
Activities
Committee, c/o Rachel Gilfoy;
Siuslaw Outreach Services or
the Florence Food Share.
KILMER—Dr. Frank Hale
Kilmer, 93, of Florence, passed
away April 12, 2018.
Frank was born on June 1,
1924, in Chicago, Ill., but grew
up in Pasadena, Calif., ulti-
mately attending Pasadena City
College. Involved in an aero-
tech program, he thought he
had found his life’s work.
He helped design the P-61,
Black Widow night fighter
while work-
ing
for
Northrup,
and contin-
ued a love
affair with
airplanes
throughout
the rest of
his life.
Dr. Frank
Kilmer
At UC
B e r k e l e y,
Frank took a geology course,
which led him to a PhD, a 4-
year stint in oil exploration and
a lifetime in academia. He was
still working on a mapping
project in the Florence area
when he left us; he loved his
work.
Frank used his expertise to
travel the world, teaching in
eight foreign countries and
traveling in more than 60. A
humble man, he made friends
wherever he went. Wherever he
lived he was involved in the
community, making city maps,
being on planning commissions
and city councils, writing let-
ters to the editors, being
involved with coastal commis-
sions and leaving a better place
than he found.
He spent four years as part of
a United Nations Committee
member aiding island nations
in the Pacific to develop their
natural resources and worked at
Seoul National University,
Korea under the USAID pro-
gram
to
underdeveloped
nations.
Frank had a huge interest in
the natural world; he loved
sports (especially football); he
was a jazz fan who knew his
jazz, knew the musicians, songs
and history; he knew all the
battles of WWII, including the
people, planes, ships and out-
comes; and he loved to talk and
tell stories to anyone who
would listen.
Frank is survived by his
wife, Shirley, of 47 years; three
daughters: Kathy Hennesey,
Kerry Kilmer and Holly Davis;
numerous stepdaughters and
stepsons, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, all of
whom he loved dearly and they
adore him in return.
Please join us in remember-
ing Frank by joining us on May
12, at 11 a.m., at the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints on Munsel Lake Road in
Florence.
Come share stories or just
listen; lunch will be served.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home is in
charge of all arrangements.
Dunes Memorial Chapel
serving Florence and the surrounding area
“ Our Family,
Serving Your
Family”
Burial & Cremation Service • Onsite Crematory
Columnbarium Spaces • Pre-need Planning
Serving Lane, Douglas and Coos County
Dunes Memorial Chapel
2300 Frontage Road, Reedsport, Oregon 97467 • 541-271-2822