Kohn and his wife, Ida Lowe, who was born Jewish in Budapest, changed their name to Kerry, were baptized as Catholics in 1902, and immigrated to the United States in 1905.
For several years the Kerrys prospered, with Frederick working as a business consultant in Chicago and then moving the family to Massachusetts. In 1915, Richard, the father of future Senator Kerry, was born. By 1921, the Kerrys were wealthy enough to park a Cadillac outside their home at 10 Downing Road in Brookline. At the time, Frederick Kerry was described in the Globe as ``a prominent man in the shoe business.''
But on Nov. 23rd, 1921, Frederick Kerry walked into the washroom of Boston's Copley Plaza Hotel, pulled out a handgun, and shot himself in the head. Just days earlier he had filed a will revealing that his debts nearly equaled his assets. Six-year-old Richard Kerry was left without a father, though enough family money was available to send Richard to Yale University and Harvard Law School.
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