Carita Kerr was Derry’s mayoress when her husband, John, welcomed US President Bill Clinton to Guildhall Square in 1995.
She stood by his side as he told the president and the world that Derry had “declared for peace”, at a time when the rest of Northern Ireland was still grappling with a fragile peace process.
So determined was she to be part of that historic occasion that Carita had discharged herself from hospital after undergoing surgery the day before.
A beautiful singer in a city full of renowned singers, Carita also sang solo for Pope John Paul II when he visited Drogheda in 1979.
However, she carried her incredible talent lightly, always willing to share with others, and never slow to guide, help and mentor younger talents.
From Buncrana, Carita and John built their family home at Clarendon Street in Derry’s city centre, raising a daughter, Marie Louise, and sons, James and Robert.
As a singer and speech and drama coach, she worked with many emerging talents in the city, including Bronagh Gallagher, who went on to have roles in Pulp Fiction and The Commitments.
In her work as a special education needs teacher, she endeared herself to generations of Derry children and their parents.
Former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said her dedication to her husband party and her community were an “inspiration to many”.
“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.”
At her Requiem Mass at St Eugene’s Cathedral, Fr Paul Farren summed Carita up perfectly when he described her as a “force of nature”.
He recalled a woman who was forthright in her life and opinions. No-one ever needed to wonder what Carita was thinking. She always told them and did so with great eloquence.
“She was formidable. She was determined. She was driven and she never accepted defeat. She always knew that the impossible was actually possible,” he said
“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.”
But Carita’s public life was just one part of her being. She loved life and lived it to the full, performing as a soloist and in choirs. And, at the heart of her being, was her family. She was a “wonderful and inspiring mother and grandmother,” Fr Farren said.
Carita’s faith was also hugely important. The Derry priest told mourners her faith was the anchor in her life.
“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 confidence and the ability to recognise that the gifts and talents she had were gifts from God, to be used to serve God,” he said.
“Carita described her singing as a pray, a most wonderful and beautiful prayer.”
Carita passed away suddenly at the age of 86 in Altnagelvin hospital on September 28.
She was laid to rest at Derry city cemetery.
