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Patricia L. Kerr, known to most as Patti, passed away on April 22, 2026, at the age of 77, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a place she called home for more than 50 years. Patti lived a life full of learning, service, devotion, and creativity, deeply centered on her family, especially her grandchildren.
Patti was born on January 29, 1949, in Holdenville, Oklahoma, to Harmon Creed “Mike” Carmichael and Kathryn Forbes Carmichael. She grew up in Bristow, Oklahoma, before moving to Tulsa for her senior year where she graduated from East Central High School. These early years shaped her strong sense of curiosity, fairness, and compassion, qualities that guided her throughout her life.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Art from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Patti spent her professional career teaching in the Dewey School System from 1987 to 2012. She especially enjoyed teaching science, language arts, and social studies and believed education should spark curiosity, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. Her students knew they were expected to think.
On December 7, 1985, Patti married David H. Kerr. Together they shared more than 40 years of marriage marked by companionship, shared interests, and genuine enjoyment. They loved traveling, sporting events, eating out, spending time with grandchildren and family, and being members of Bartlesville First United Methodist Church. They treasured their close circle of friends and the life they built together.
Patti believed strongly in staying involved and giving back. She served as a board member of the Bartlesville Art Association and volunteered generously with the League of Women Voters, Washington County Retired Educators Association, the Salvation Army, Green Thumb Garden Club, and the Church Library. Patti valued civic responsibility, creativity, and community and she lived those values every day.
Creativity played a central role in Patti’s life. She loved drawing and was deeply passionate about the arts. She was an avid reader of murder mysteries, and spent time working on a book of her own, with dreams of becoming a romance novelist. In recent years, she also developed a true passion for watching K dramas. Patti adored musical theater, especially Cats the musical which she loved unapologetically. She was firmly Team Edward and proudly House Gryffindor.
Above all else, Patti treasured being a grandmother. She took immense joy in planning time with her grandchildren, filling days and her heart with swimming, trips to Kiddie Park, summer art classes, tennis, visits to Woolaroc, and countless small adventures she delighted in creating for them. She followed their lives closely, celebrated every milestone, and loved them with unmistakable pride and enthusiasm.
Patti is survived by her husband, David H. Kerr; her children Stephanie Brace (Ray) of Stillwater, Oklahoma; Michelle Eaton (Trenton) of Edmond, Oklahoma; Debra Kerr (Steve Thompson) of Chicago, Illinois; and Dean Kerr (Roberta) of Mobile, Alabama. She is also survived by her grandchildren Riley and Elias Stackenwalt, Brodey Ward, Leo Eaton, Anne Claire Fassnacht (Alex Yoffe), Lucas LaCosse, Trevor, Braden, and Aurora Kerr; along with extended family including her brother John Carmichael (Jan), brother-in-law Kenneth Crossland, nieces Katie Carmichael and Sara Crossland, and nephew Creed Crossland.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Harmon Creed “Mike” and Kathryn Carmichael, and her sister, Karen Crossland.
Patti will be remembered as an educator, volunteer, artist, reader, meticulous list maker, and a grandmother who loved her grandchildren deeply. She believed learning never stopped, community mattered deeply, and life was always better with curiosity, creativity, and a really good musical.
A Celebration of Life will be held on May 30 at 2:00 p.m. at Bartlesville First United Methodist Church. A reception will follow, during which Patti’s artwork will be displayed. Guests are invited to select a piece that speaks to them and take it home in her memory. Family and close friends will later gather at the columbarium to share stories and memories while visiting Patti’s plaque and resting place.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages acts of volunteerism, support for education or the arts, or simply spending extra time with the people you love, just the way Patti would have done it.
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