Utahna Kerr is an indispensable member of the Gresham Historical Society. She has volunteered at the museum on a weekly basis for almost 40 years! She started helping in 1982 when the society began to make plans to move into its current home at the Gresham Carnegie Library building. Utahna and her husband Larry would visit the local schools and teach about early Gresham history to eighth grade and fourth-grade classes, bringing along antiques and stories to engage the students.

Utahna has done almost every task and job imaginable at the museum. From sorting through artifact donations, creating educational content, helping with museum events, presenting on Gresham history, serving as a docent, or scheduling other volunteers, Utahna does it all and is a joy to work with! She has served multiple terms on the Board of Directors and several different committees and task forces. Her knowledge of our town and local history is an asset to the society. She can often answer even the most obscure questions of Gresham’s history that stump the rest of us.

 

At the Gresham Historical Society Board of Directors’ annual retreat, we honored Utahna for all of her work throughout the years with the title of Emeritus Board member.

Utahna continues to volunteer at the museum on a weekly basis, clipping news articles and welcoming guests into the museum. When asked if she had a single most fond memory of all the years of her volunteer work here at the society, Utahna said that it is our sense of shared purpose and dedication to the preservation and sharing of our local history. Thank you, Utahna! Your continued support, effort, and love of our museum is what makes this place so special.