George Thomas Kerry, age 83 of Woodland Park, Colorado passed away on Sunday, April 4, 2021 at 3:25 AM. He passed peacefully in his sleep at the Sunrise of Carroll Assisted Living facility in Westminster, MD. He was surrounded by his family the day before and was contacted by his brother, Bill Kerry, virtually on Saturday as well.
Tom (as he liked to be called), was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 6, 1937 to parents George Rice Kerry and Alice Christine “Schouman” Kerry. Tom graduated from Lyons Township High School, La Grange, Illinois in 1955. He attended Kalamazoo College in 1956. Tom graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.
Tom and his brother Bill were wild in their youth. From climbing balconies playing “cowboys and Indians,” rescuing the damsel in distress (sister Marylin Kirkpatrick) to hunting jack rabbits in New Mexico and shooting himself in the foot with his own 22 revolver while drawing on a rabbit. Later the next year, Bill was shot in the rear by accident when his friend bore down on a rabbit while hunting with Tom and Bill. The funny part is the same police officer was at the hospital to file the report on both brothers. Bill that year and Tom the year before. As Tom tried to slink out of the hospital room, the officer recognized them and suggested they not go hunting rabbits anymore!
Tom joined the United States Air Force serving as a communications officer where he worked as an OPSEC Analyst from 1967-1970 at the Strategic Air Command Headquarters, NE. He was the Chief of the Communications Section supporting the Strategic Reconnaissance Center. Due to a communications background, Tom became the first SAC OPSEC Officer. He worked with PACOM in identifying and correcting vulnerabilities associated with SAC air operations in Vietnam. Tom went from active duty to reserve duty in 1970 after his son, Steven Thomas Kerry was born. He joined the National Security Agency where he worked from 1971 – 1992. Tom held various roles during this tenure all relating to OPSEC operations. Tom developed all the OPSEC planning and cover designed to protect the secrecy of the program. He worked with all levels of government to detect vulnerabilities, support combat operations and helped with planning the continuity of government. He retired in 1992 with 30 years of service for this country and was recognized within the government as one of the nation’s leading experts in operation security. Because of his OPSEC vulnerability assessment activities, Tom had an extensive background in the conduct of military operations, weapon system testing, hostile intelligence service operations, communications vulnerabilities, nuclear survivability programs, and sensitive SIGNIT collection programs. Tom joined Aegis Research Corporation as a consultant in 1993 and worked as a contractor until about 2005 in Colorado.
Mr. Kerry was immensely proud of the work he did for the government but never let anyone outside of the government know exactly what he did. Professional to the end! He was loved by everyone that worked for him. Many said he was the best boss they had ever had in their career. But most importantly, it was his family that he cared about most. His oldest son Steven was born in 1970 to Tom and Dorine Alice “Van Houten” Kerry. His next son Robert came in 1973. From there they moved to Hawaii to live until 1977. He was divorced in 1977 and later remarried to Virginia Lee “Buckingham” Kerry and bore Jeffrey in 1989.
Tom lived in Lisbon, MD from 1982 to 1999 with his family. He and Ginna had horses on 6 acres of land and were avid riders. Tom loved animals of all kinds. He had several dogs, cats and horses. There he saw his sons graduate from Glenelg High School and go off to college. He continued to raise Jeff there.
In 1999 Tom, Ginna and Jeff moved to Woodland Park, CO to live in the mountains with a beautiful view of Pikes Peak. This was his favorite place to live. When he first moved in, the SWAT team, fully armed, came through his property and repelled down the mountain in his back yard to capture some of the “Texas Seven” who were very dangerous criminals that escaped from a maximum security prison in Texas. They were hiding out in a trailer park at the bottom of the hill. Nice welcome to the neighborhood! Yet they stayed. Besides members of SWAT, he would often have black bear, bobcat, fox, elk, skunks, and mule deer passing through his yard. It sometimes reminded you of a Disney movie.
He was often surrounded by deer as he fed them during the winter. At one point he had up to 30 deer in his yard. All generations. The oldest he called “Grandpa” would come up to him while he was pouring the feed and envelope him in his antlers with no more injury that a slightly torn coat. Later in 2020 when Tom was living at the Aspen Assisted Living 2 miles away, that same deer made his way to Tom’s room and laid outside his window for a few hours. You can definitely say they loved him as much as he loved them!
While in Colorado, Tom made many trips to Canada, California, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico and other surrounding western states. His favorite vacation was his trip to Alaska with longtime friend Dave Turley. It was during these trips that Tom took up photography. He was a natural photographer. He took many pictures of the mountains and wildlife. His pictures were so good he printed them on canvas and metal. Many were sold or donated to the local hospital where they hung on the walls. Dave and Tom would often attend breakfast at the Hungry Bear, a local restaurant. They were there so often that Tom donated some of his bear pictures that hang on the walls of the Hungry Bear to this day.
While in Colorado, he was involved with the American Legion Post 1980 where he organized several veteran’s day celebrations. He was also involved with Mountain View United Methodist Church. He always sat up front and enjoyed the choir and music. He often ushered services until it got too hard to get there. The congregation loved him and his pictures.
He was an avid walker and would walk with his dog, Boo, for 4 or more miles a day in the National Forest near him. When Boo passed in October 2019, he started to decline. He eventually moved to the Aspen Assisted Living. The staff there loved him. He had a great sense of humor and loved the ladies. They were sad to see him go when he was brought back to Maryland to be closer to his family. From there he stayed at Sunrise of Carroll in Westminster, MD. For the short time he was there, he touched the hearts of everyone that worked with him. Including the executive director. Tom touched the hearts of everyone he met. It was that personality that awarded him several lifelong friends like Carl Warner, Greg Howe, Sam Fisher, Nick Sommese, Dick O’Leary and many others that kept in contact with him for the rest of his life. He would often return East to play golf in Williamsburg with his buddies.
Tom is survived by his sons, Steven Thomas Kerry (51), Robert Allen Kerry (47) and Jeffrey Michael Kerry (31). He is also survived by his brother William S Kerry and sister Marylin Kirkpatrick. He leaves behind 4 grandchildren Talon Kerry (22), Caroline Kerry (17), Leanna Kerry (2) and soon to be, James Thomas Kerry.
He will be missed! May he be at peace.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at Prince of Peace Presbyterian Church, 1657 Crofton Parkway, Crofton, MD 21114 from 11am to 3pm.
Details:
Food and drinks will be provided. NO ALCOHOL.
This will be outside but the fellowship hall will be available for bathrooms and kitchen.
There will be a small service and military honor guard.
Please wear masks and practice social distancing along with any other covid recommendations.
Please R.S.V.P. by May 25th to [email protected]
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