My four sisters and I gave the life sketch at my father's funeral. Each told a portion of his life starting with Jacqueline, Catherine, Michelle, Deanne and myself. I was slated to wrap things up and tell about his legacy and the lessons we learn from him. Here is the major portion of my closing remarks.
"On April 7, 1914, Annie Spori Kerr brought forth her first born child, a son, Robert Marion and laid him at the altar of the Lord to become His faithful servant. This woman of Swiss heritage, orphaned as a child, had herself sacrificed a full measure of earthly pleasures for the gospel of Jesus Christ which her parents, Magdalena and Jacob Spori had embraced and cherished. And thus Annie molded her oldest son with the hands of integrity, hard work, personal responsibility, obedience, self-reliance, dedication to duty, service & compassion, faith in God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the love of learning. To understand Annie is to understand her son. He told me that she was the most influential person in his life. He absorbed the stories of dedicated service and sacrifice of those stalwart ancestors taught at his mother's knee and he became the vessel who embodied those ideals and pledged to carry them forth to future generations. His devoted service blessed the lives of thousands of people on both sides of the heavenly veil.
What is his wish for us-his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren? Even a brief examination of his life shows us. Throughout his 97 years of life, he "did the work of 10 men" as quoted by Gareth Ogden, the stake president who succeeded him. In his final months, each day when I would call him, he would lament that he hadn't been able to accomplish much. He was so eager to be productively working and serving. I rejoice with him now that he is free from his physical constraints and infirmities and is now happy again to be working and serving.
Every day he sought knowledge and pondered the way to implement it in his life. He designed gadgets to make a task easier, quicker or to solve a problem. He rarely met a book, magazine, pamphlet, letter or advertisement he didn't have a desire to read--often setting them aside and saving them until he had more time to read them for they might contain pearls of wisdom he didn't want to miss. When his sight dimmed, he struggled so, but found some comfort in his 'talking books.' I celebrate that now he can see--more and better than ever before.
He asks us, his progeny, to carry on the legacy of our devoted ancestors--to work hard, serve others, be self-disciplined and obedient to God's commandments. His plea was that we would follow God's prophet, do what we can, help each other and avoid temptation. He wanted us to repent when we fall and to be 'true to the faith that our parents have cherished, true to the truth for which martyrs have perished, to God's command, soul, heart and hand, faithful and true we will ever stand.'
The temple of God is the symbol of all that he treasured. He considered it to be the Lord's university and his deepest desire was that each of his family members would desire it, cherish it, take advantage of its eternal blessings and become linked forever to beloved family members through its ordinances. It is my prayer that we will embrace the true principles he loved and demonstrated and incorporate all that was good from his life into ours. Thus we will honor him and carry forth his legacy."
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