Robert Lee KERBY

26 JUN 1934 - 14 APR 2021

• BIRTH: 26 JUN 1934, New York City, Bronx, NY
• DEATH: 14 APR 2021, South Bend, St Joseph, IN

• MARRIAGE: 8 JUN 1957, St Joseph County, IN

INDEX

[N28369] Robert Lee Kerby
Jun. 26, 1934 - Apr. 14, 2021

SOUTH BEND - Robert Lee Kerby passed over to eternal life at his home on April 14, 2021, age 86, after a long illness. He was born in New York City to Robert L. and Sarah S. Kerby, attended a parochial school and a Jesuit high school in the Bronx, and later crossed the Hudson River to attend the University of Notre Dame, completing bachelor's and master's degrees in history. Following graduation, he entered the Air Force and piloted C-123s, C-130s and other propeller driven craft until 1963. He served primarily in the Far East, visiting 36 countries including some months in Vietnam at the beginning of the United States' involvement there. He was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Air Force and Army Commendation Medals and Purple Heart. He became convinced, early on, that our involvement in Vietnam was a terrible mistake and that the war was one the United States would not win. He returned to Sewart AFB in 1962, where one of his last duties was planning a contingency paratroop drop on the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington. He attended the March, as a civilian, and happily did not witness his friends dropping in. After several years in the Reserves, he was honorably discharged and returned fully to civilian life, although his combat experiences in Laos and Vietnam never left him. He resumed academic studies at Columbia University, earning his doctorate in American History in 1969. His office was vandalized by ill-informed protesters who assumed that his crew cut, courses in military history, and class trips to Civil War battlefields marked with long-silent cannon and row upon row of gravestones indicated a fondness for war, whereas his goal was to educate his students of its folly. While teaching at Columbia, he earned the Chamberlain Award for excellence in teaching. On December 28th, 1970, with the prior approbation of Pope Paul VI, he was ordained a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church by Patriarch Maximos V Hakim in Heliopolis, Egypt. Kerby joined the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame in September 1972, serving on that faculty until his retirement in 1998. He was the “Civil War guy”, specializing in 19th century American military, political and economic history. He inflicted seemingly endless facts, detailed hand drawn chalkboard maps, and stories about both well-known and obscure dead people on overflowing classes. Kerby received Notre Dame's Sheedy Award for excellence in teaching in 1994 and was elected Fellow by the Senior Class of 1998. His publications include The Confederate Invasion of New Mexico and Arizona and Kirby Smith's Confederacy. He believed that nothing conveys an understanding of a nation better than the story of that nation's growth and struggles. While at Notre Dame, he founded, and pastored for 37 years South Bend's St. John of Damascus Melkite Greek Catholic Church. During his retirement, Kerby took on one last role, that of “Fuzzy Grandpa” to his five grandchildren. As with anything of interest to him, he excelled at it, taking to the role with great energy and love. He far exceeded his academic publication record by composing a newsletter, replete with both historical facts and whimsy, distributed to them weekly over the course of eight years. Being a part of their lives was the great joy of his old age. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary, his sons, Robert (Holly) and James (Susan), and five grandchildren, Claire, Anne (Thomas), Thomas, Stephen, and Charles. Also surviving is his younger brother, Michael (Ann). A private funeral service has been held. Memorial donations may be made to the Center for Hospice Care. Published in South Bend Tribune on Apr. 18, 2021.