From the Archives

Ann Kerr nee Cooke

Last term I told the story of the 1950 College Captain Ann Kerr (nee Cooke), who was delighted with the collection of photos and other documents I sent, relating to her time at Kilbreda. I mentioned at that time that Ann was quite unwell and, during the holidays, she was put into palliative care and died suddenly but peacefully on 6 April 2016 at the age of 82. Ann and her husband Stan had been married for 60 years and had six children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. This touching tribute appeared in the Herald Sun: “The centre of our family. An amazing, brave, strong and independent woman, an example to all, sustained by her love for us and her faith”.

The following comes from the previous newsletter:”Another enquiry was from a friend of 1950 College Captain, Ann Cook, who is not particularly well. Ann was a sporty type and is included in sports pages of many annuals as the winner or runner-up in numerous categories. Ann boarded here from 1938-50 and it is interesting to note that her name was never written down correctly and appears with an e on both her first and surname throughout her twelve years here! Ann is pictured top left in the Kilbreda team which won the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association competition in 1949 and top right as House Captain of Kilbreda house in 1950. We wish Ann well and hope that her health improves and that the pictures and pages might bring back some happy memories.”

During the holidays, Kilbreda farewelled another, more recent past pupil, Stacee MacInnes, who died suddenly aged only 20. Stacee was the fifth of the MacInnes girls to attend Kilbreda, completing Year 12 in 2013. The celebration of her life, which took place at the St Louis de Montfort Hall in Aspendale was a fitting tribute to Stacee. Her family spoke glowingly of her, as did a group of her Kilbreda friends, many of whom wore a bit of purple as a tribute to her. I taught Stacee in Room 73 in Year 7 and was always greeted with her beaming smile whenever I met her around the school over the time she spent here.

We remember these two past pupils in our prayers.

Damian Smith

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