Olive Elizabeth McIlwain Kerr died peacefully with Walter, her husband of 73 years, and many members of her family at her side on February 15, 2013 at St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor.

Olive was born on April 13, 1918 to Charles Howard McIlwain and Kathleen Thompson McIlwain at the Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Mass.

Olive grew up in Cambridge, Mass. Her father was a professor of history of political theory and government at Harvard University. Olive, her parents and her brother Charles McIlwain Jr. (“Mac”) spent summers on Squirrel Island near Boothbay Harbor where her parents first met.

She was precocious, independent, spontaneous, fiercely outspoken and spunky all of her life. When she was young, her interests included tennis, swimming, skating, field hockey, drawing and ballroom dancing.

Some of her early achievements included writing and directing a feature film based on Arthur Ransome’s, “Swallows and Amazons,” and between ages 10 and 12, publishing a neighborhood newspaper, the Avenue Weekly, with a circulation of 108 at its peak. She charged 5 cents a copy and paid herself and her co-editor a dollar a week while paying their brothers, who were reporters, 50 cents a week. One day, on the way home from school,  Olive came upon two boys who were not treating a baby squirrel which had fallen out of a nest as gently as Olive believed they should. She promptly rescued the squirrel which she nursed to health and kept as a beloved companion for many years. At age 15, she mailed away for a driver's license from Maine and when it arrived, she drove the family to Maine for the summer.

She graduated from Miss Lee’s School in 1936 and from Connecticut College for Women in 1940 where she played field hockey, was president of her class twice and majored in anatomy and fine arts. In her senior year at college, she took a cooking class, and for her final exam, had to produce a full course meal. She invited the president of the college and her husband for the dinner. When Olive’s professor learned who the guests were to be, she insisted on helping Olive prepare the meal. The president was impressed, Olive received an “A” and the professor received kudos for her teaching skills.

In 1936, Olive met Walter (Bud) S. Kerr, Jr. at a Brattle Hall dance when he was a freshman at Harvard. Shortly after Olive graduated from college, they married while Walter was a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. Olive worked at a hospital clinic until Walter graduated. They then returned to Boston while Walter interned at the Mass General Hospital.

In 1943, Walter entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps and they traveled the country to various army posts until he was sent to Europe. While Walter was overseas, Olive lived with her family in Belmont and worked for a doctor in Boston.

After Walter’s return at the end of the war, Walter completed his training in surgery and urology at the MGH where he practiced for 45 years. Olive and Walter had four sons, Scott, John, Robert and David. They lived in Milton, Mass., for 55 years.

Olive enjoyed skiing with the family beginning in the early 1950s all over New England with an annual trip to Mont Tremblant in the Laurentians, boating “down east” on the coast of Maine and traveling across the country on family camping trips to the national parks.

After Walter retired, they traveled to all of the continents except Antarctica and to many countries to see the sites, explore the cultures and pursue a life long interest in bird watching. Olive became an accomplished “birder,” leading groups around Boston as well on many of the trips that she and Walter took around the world.

Olive enjoyed the companionship of many lifelong friends on Squirrel Island where she continued to spend time in the summers into her 90s. She served for several years on the Board of Overseers of the island and for two years as its chair. She was an involved, supportive and caring daughter, wife, mother and grandmother.

In 2010, Olive and Walter moved to St. Andrews Village Retirement Community in Boothbay Harbor and enjoyed the tree top view of birds and wildlife from their sunny apartment with her Leitz binoculars and her remote by her side to be sure she caught every Red Sox game and tennis match.

Olive was predeceased by her parents, her son, David, and her brother, Mac.

She is survived by Walter, Scott and his wife Meredith Thompson Kerr of North Yarmouth, John and his wife Deborah Selvage Kerr of Milton, Mass., Robert Kerr of Trevett, and grandchildren and spouses: James (Ann), Sarah (Dan), Timothy, Ethan (Stephanie), Margaret (Joseph), Duncan, Fiona and Brooks.

Donations in Olive’s memory may be made to The Squirrel Island Library, c/o Betty Powell, Treasurer, 20 Walker St., Newtonville, MA 02460 or the Squirrel Island Historical Society, c/o Art Mayo, Treasurer, 83 Green St., Bath, ME 04530. A memorial service will be held on Squirrel Island at a date to be announced.

You are invited to share your condolences, photos and tributes with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfunralhomes.com/. Arrangements are entrusted to Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Boothbay.