'Formidable' woman helped welcome Bill Clinton to Derry one day after cancer surgery, mourners told

A well-known Derry teacher, singer, and actress who helped welcome US President Bill Clinton to the city during his famous 1995 visit was described as a "formidable" and "determined" woman on Wednesday.

Carita Kerr, wife of the late former Mayor of Derry John Kerr, sadly died at Altnagelvin Hospital on Saturday. She was was laid to rest on Wednesday following a funeral service at St Eugene's Cathedral.

Originally from Buncrana, she and her husband welcomed President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton to Derry for the first time on 30 November 1995, where the US President told young people at a packed Guildhall Square to "believe that the future can be better than the past".

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Mourners at St Eugene's Cathedral heard on Wednesday how she had attended the historic event, three years before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, just a day after she had undergone surgery for cancer.

A talented singer, as well as a speech and drama coach who had worked with the Pulp Fiction and Commitments star Bronagh Gallagher, Carita Kerr's contribution to the arts was also recognised.

Fr Paul Farren, in a touching homily, said her death had come just one day before the 45th anniversary of her singing for Pope John Paul II, during his three-day visit to Ireland in September 1979.

Fr Farren said that while Carita Kerr was "suited" to the "world stage" her "passion" was to help others.

"Faith was the anchor in Carita's life," he said. "It gave her the foundation to live the life that she did and to do what she did. The Mass, Rosary, God. This is where Carita lived from and in many ways it gave her her confidence and the abillity to recognise that the gifts and talents she had were gifts from God - to be used to serve God.

"Carita described her singing as prayer, a most wonderful and beautiful prayer. And with faith as the anchor in her life, Carita had a very strong moral compass. If truth be told there was very little grey in her life or her opinions. You never needed to wonder what Carita was thinking. She told you, and she told you with great eloquence.

"Carita was a force of nature. She was formidable. She was determined. She was driven and she never accepted defeat. She always knew that the impossible was actually possible. Her courage and her energy proved that to be true, and never more obviously than when, with John, she welcomed President Clinton to Derry the day after she had surgery for cancer.

"Carita loved life and she lived it to the full. She loved, in a way, to be on the world stage. The world stage suited her. She died just one day before the 45th anniversary of her singing for Pope John Paul II in Drogheda. And while the world stage suited Carita, her passion was to help everybody to be the best that they could be."

Fr Farren continued: "At the heart of Carita's life was her family. With John, they were a formidable team. They were just two lungs in the one body and when John died, a part of Carita died too. I know she was a wonderful and inspiring mother and grandmother.

"And then there was the community and the common good. Carita was so committed to the arts, to music, to those with special needs, to children, to working mothers, to Derry - even though she had the joy of being born in Inishowen, in Buncrana.

"Carita served her community and always knew that things could be better. She proved that she was right. Right to the end, Carita stayed involved in the community and gave all that she could."

Earlier this week, the former SDLP leader and sitting Foyle MP Colum Eastwood was amongst those to pay tribute to Carita Kerr.

“Carita Kerr was well known throughout our city and her native Donegal where she immersed herself in a wide variety of projects, particularly those involving the arts," he said. "Alongside her long career as a special educational needs teacher, she was also heavily involved in the Derry Feis throughout her life and was a regular face to people of all ages who attended and took part.

“I came to know Carita well after joining the SDLP and as a young member she always had a kind and encouraging word. After entering politics myself she retained a keen interest in the party and my career and she was someone I always looked forward to seeing at party events. Her dedication to the party and her community were an inspiration to many."

He continued: “With her late husband John, Carita took centre stage during the extraordinary visit of President Clinton and First Lady Hilary Clinton to Derry in November 1995. As Mayor and Mayoress they welcomed the Clintons to our city at a fragile time for our peace process and it’s a visit that’s still talked about today. I know that both were very proud to have played such a key role in an important moment in the history of our city.

“Carita will be missed by the entire SDLP family and all of those whose lives she touched, from the children she worked with to the drama students and others she mentored. Our thoughts are with Carita and John’s children James, Marie Louise and Robert, and the entire Kerr family circle at this sad time.”

The committee of Feis Dhoire Cholmcille also paid warm tribute to Mrs Kerr

“A renowned and immensely successful feis competitor herself, Carita will also always be remembered by feis attendees as someone who later imparted her knowledge and talent as a teacher to countless young people who then in turn graced the stages of feis venues themselves,” a spokesperson said.

Following her funeral on Wednesday, her remains were taken for interment at the city cemetery.

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