Elizabeth “Liz” Kerr Martin, 79, a 45-year resident of Wellesley, Massachusetts, on June 23, 2012. Beloved wife of Jacob H. Martin. Dear mother of David K. Martin and his wife Bonnie of Amherst, New York, Elizabeth M. Brouckman and her husband Randy of Oakton, Virginia, and John K. Martin of Denver, Colorado. Devoted grandmother of Karen and Timothy Martin and Allison, Laura, and Michelle Brouckman.
Liz was the daughter of the late Dr. Howard H. Kerr and the late Beatrice Larkin Kerr and grew up in Toronto, enjoying summers at her family’s cottage on Lake Muskoka north of Toronto. Her siblings, Esme Walker and Ian Kerr predeceased her. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1954, Liz was head of the bakery at Eaton’s Department Store for three years. She then entered Cornell University with a fellowship to study body fat by weighing subjects submerged in water. In her second year there, she met Jacob, her husband to be, in the graduate student co-ed dormitory. She married Jacob in November, 1959 after receiving her Masters of Nutritional Science from Cornell. They settled in Williamstown, Massachusetts where they lived for eight years and had their three children.
In 1967, they moved to Wellesley, and as their children grew older, Liz worked at the Wellesley Free Library and later at the Dana Hall Bookstore. She was a member of the Wellesley Village Congregational Church where she was active on various committees, co-chaired the rummage sale for several years, and managed the H.O.M.E. store. Liz was active in and served as President of the Scholarship Fund of Tau Beta Beta and was a member of the Boston Fatherless and Widows Society. She founded a book club, participated in several bridge clubs, and had belonged to the the Wellesley Garden Club and the Wellesley Newcomers and Postcomers. Liz was a member of the Campton Hollow Ski Club for thirty-five years and enjoyed hiking, camping, and cross-country skiing. She was a familiar sight on the streets of Wellesley, taking brisk four to five mile walks up to six months ago. Her greatest loves were her family and friends.
She and her family truly appreciated the outpouring of cards, emails, calls, visits, rides, and offers of food during her illness. A Celebration of Life was held at the Wellesley Village Congregational Church on June 27. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to the MSPCA (www.mspca.org), the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org), or a charity of your choice.