Charles John Kerester

Having lived ninety-seven and a half years of a life well lived, Chuck Kerester of Shaker Heights passed away peacefully on August 4, 2024. Giving, gracious, and grateful to the end, regardless of the challenge, Chuck returns to the loving embrace of his beloved wife Eleanor.

Chuck was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1927. As a child of the depression, nothing was ever wasted –whether his beloved reading chair from the 50’s (affectionately referred to as “the thing that wouldn’t leave”) or the margarine containers that he would use to mix his tried-and-true epoxycure-all for his various“repair” efforts around the house. There was nothing that could not be fixed with some epoxy and duct tape. 

Here are some things you likely didn’t know about Chuck, given his humility. While he refused to ever brag, please allow us to proudly do so:

• Summer police officer at Mill Creek Park in Youngstown

• Served in the Merchant Marines upon graduating from high school, including serving on a troop transport ship steaming toward Japan in August 1945

• Graduated summa cum laude from the Ohio State College of Law in 1952

• Number one on the Ohio State Bar Exam- Winter 1952

• Staff attorney Joint Committee on Taxation, United States Congress (1958-1960)

• Partner with Jones Day, specializing in international tax law and employee compensation

• Adjunct Professor of tax law at Case Western Reserve Law School (1992 - 1994)

• Established the LLM in Taxation program at Case Western Reserve Law School

And here are some things that you are more likely to have known about Chuck, given their importance to him in living a life well lived:

• Avid sailor, skier, dancer, bocce ball player, and table tennis player (still beating all comers at age 96!) 

• Would-be land yacht sailor (he purchased two notwithstanding Eleanor’s well-founded doubts as to whether they would be used)

• Creator of a home-made paddle tennis court on the driveway

• Fast pitch softball pitcher during his youth, and “blooper ball” pitcher for the Jones Day softball team

• Saturday night dance club member for 30 years (Chuck and Eleanor were quite the graceful pair on the dance floor)

• Avid reader of the New York Times (the universe was disrupted if the paper was late)

• A man ahead of his time who did not care what others thought (Chuck was an early adopter of the short ski method and wore long dark pants on the tennis court when the wearing of white was expected)

• Still cutting the lawn with his push rotary lawn mower well into his 90’s

• Still driving at age 94 so that he could visit Eleanor at Lakeview Cemetery each day

Above all else, nothing mattered more to Chuck than his family. Chuck was preceded in death by Eleanor, whom he married in 1952 and whose passing nearly nine years ago left a deep void for him. Also preceded in death by his brother Raymond Kerester of Westchester, NY, and survived by his brother Thomas P. Kerester of Alexandria, VA and sister MaryAnn Kerester Jones of Fairfax, VA (both of whom were able to share in Chuck’s 97th birthday celebration). And devoted father to Alison A. Kerester (Robert M. Nolan) of Arlington, VA., Scott C. Kerester (Donna) of Chappaqua, NY., Brian C. Kerester (Laurie Berk)of San Francisco, CA.,and Dale C. Kerester of Easton MA.; and loving grandfather of Adrian (Charlie Kunze), Jamie, Olivia, Courtney, Andrew (Samantha), James, and William Kerester. 

Private services will be held. 

Friends and family may call at the Brown-Forward Funeral Home, 17022 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Heights, OH, on Friday, August 16 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Please log online to www.brown-forward.com for additional informationand to sign the virtual guestbook. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org)