 Jack Waterford observed that, above all, "Sir John's legacy was to make the viceroyalty a most controversial post and himself one of the most discussed persons ever to occupy it".Kerr died alone in his home in Sydney in 1991 from a brain tumour, survived by his three children and his second wife.The family withheld announcement of the death until after Sir John's burial at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Macquarie Park, New South Wales.