ST. LOUIS – Betty Jean Kerr, former Chief Executive Officer of People’s Health Centers, passed away Sunday in St. Louis at the age of 82 due to complications from a recent illness.

The People’s Family of Corporations said this is a significant loss.

The Board of Directors, management team, and employees extend our deepest sympathies to the Kerr Family. Betty Jean Kerr was a larger-than-life figure who brought her remarkable passion, experience, and vision of community health to the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

The People’s Family of Corporations

People’s Health Centers was founded in 1972 as a free clinic by community activists and medical students. It began in a storefront on Kingsbury and Des Peres in University City. Kerr joined them in 1975. The center eventually grew to over 200 staffers, including doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, and mental health counselors, at three sites.

When she retired in 2007, the center changed its name to Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers and created a scholarship foundation in her honor.

Her family asks that mourners make a contribution to the Betty Jean Kerr Scholarship Foundation in lieu of flowers.