Merrick O. 'Buddy' Kerry

Mr. Merrick "Buddy" Oliver Kerry, 64, a resident of Patterson, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, February 12, 2008. Mr. Kerry is survived by his wife of 47 years, Alice Wilson Kerry of Patterson; their daughters, Susan Thibodeaux and her husband, Gary, of Centerville, Sandra Swope and her husband, Claude, of Sulphur and Sharon Dohmann and her husband, Joey, of Berwick; as well as his mother, Mary Cheramie and her husband, Paul, of Derry; his brothers, Bill Kerry of Lake Charles and James McGurk of Charenton; and his sisters, Mary Francis Humble of Iowa and Charlotte Blackman of Kemp, Texas; his grandchildren, Kansas Swope, Dakota Swope, Caroline Swope, Savanna Thibodeaux, Olivia Thibodeaux, Gweneth Dohmann and Mary-Alice Dohmann; and a great-grandchild, Ava Swope. Besides being a loving father and wonderful grandfather, Buddy Kerry was well known in the marine and oil field industries. For over 43 years, he was an expert in his field, working in several capacities including Manager of International Operations, Vice-President of Operations, Area Manager, and International Vessel Manager. Buddy Kerry worked for such companies as Twenty Grand Marine, Pan Marine Service, Tidewater Marine, Arthur Levy Boat Services, Seahorse Inc., LaBorde Marine Services and Oceaneering International. His work history spanned across the entire globe stationed in long-term and short-term projects in Nigeria, Angola, Brazil, Newfoundland, Persian/Arabian Gulf, India, Honduras, Trinidad, Guyana, Congo, Mexico, Columbia, Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Kuwait, Abidjan, Italy, Tunisia, Red Sea, Singapore, China, Senagel, Cameroon, U.S. Gulf Coast, U.S. West Coast, U.S. East Coast and West Africa. Mr. Kerry enjoyed his retirement for the past four years spending quality time with his family, especially the grandchildren, and making regular hunting trips to his camp in the Natchitoches area. He will be greatly missed by family and friends. Visitation will be observed from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with rosary service at 7 p.m. at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home, 848 Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches on Friday, February 15, 2008. Visitation will be observed from 9 a.m. until service time in the Holy Rosary Catholic Church on Emmanuel Road, Cloutierville, La. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 16, 2008, at the Emanuel Catholic Church in Chopin, with the Rev. Richard Green officiating. Mr. Kerry will be laid to rest at the Emanuel Cemetery in Chopin. Family and friends can leave messages at the Web site, www.blanchardstdenisfuneralhome.com. The Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches is in charge of funeral arrangements. For online condolences please visit us at www.blanchardstdenisfuneralhome.com