At Aughnacloy House on Friday, January 12th, Tom Kerr, who had served as Secretary of Glenavon for the past 23 years, passed away in a calm manner. Tom was born in Sloan Street in 1942, and when he was growing up in the shadow of Mourneview Park, he developed an initial love affair with Glenavon FC, particularly the all-conquering squad of the 1950s.
Also, he joined the Lurgan Amateur Flute Band, which he found to be an activity that he enjoyed much, just like many other young men from the area. Up to the band’s dissolution in the 1980s, he was a member of the group.
His tenure as Secretary of Glenavon Football Club began in the 1970s. Tom had a steadying influence on everyone associated to the club, and despite the fact that he had experienced both positive and negative times at the club, he never lost his overwhelming love for Glenavon.
This was something that everybody who knew him could attest to. In 1992, Glenavon defeated Linfield by a score of 2-1 at the Oval to win the Irish Cup. This victory was the first time the club had raised the prestigious cup in more than thirty years, and it was one of the moments that made him the most proud.
Tom, in his capacity as Honorary Secretary, carried out a number of visits on behalf of the club and took part in a significant number of drawings for European competitions.
He was engaged in the signing of a large number of players over the course of his career, as evidenced by this photograph from the late 1980s, which shows him and Glenavon Manager Terry Nicholson signing a local boy named Jim Gardiner for the Lurgan Blues.
