On June 22, 2011, Lois Smith Carter passed away in Edmonds, WA surrounded by friends and family.
Lois was born on April 16, 1928 in Riverhead, NY to Reginald C. and Doris R. Smith. Lois graduated from Barnard College after a junior year abroad at the University of Geneva. She married Robert E. Richard in 1949 and moved to Washington, D.C. where Robert completed medical school. The family relocated to Prosser, WA in 1954 where Robert practiced medicine until his death in 1959. Lois and her three children moved to Ellensburg, WA where she taught high school French. In a bold move, the family lived in Paris during 1963 while she studied French at the Sorbonne, a memorable experience for her children. In 1967 Lois married Donald N. Carter of Prosser, WA and moved to Seattle where Donald was a reporter and editor with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Lois began a career as a taxpayer services specialist for the IRS, retiring in 1993.
Lois had great intellectual curiosity and a passion for beauty. Her love of painting and sculpture led her to visit most of the great art museums of the world, often with small children in tow. She was a season ticket holder to the Seattle Opera and theaters and made an annual trek to Ashland, OR for the Shakespeare festival. She was an avid reader of history. Her interests also included observing the natural history and beauty of the Pacific Northwest and telling stories about collisions of the federal tax code with anonymous taxpayers. She and Donald would camp each year with other Carter family members on the slopes of Mt. Adams to pick wild huckleberries and would travel to the beaches at La Push each spring hoping to sight migrating grey whales.
Lois is survived by her children Charles N. Carter (Virginia) of Tacoma, WA, Paul R. Richard (Anne Cortissoz) of New York, NY, Edwin A. Richard (Radha Iyengar) of Belmont, MA, and Lucy R. Richard 9Philip Arnold), of Edmonds, WA. She is also survived by grandchildren Elizabeth Arnold, R. Reginald Arnold, William K. Richard, Meredith Richard, Martin J. Richard, Hannah Carter and Matthew Carter; and by her siblings Priscilla Schechter, St. James, NY and Allen M. Smith, Aquebogue, NY; and by many nephews and nieces. She was predeceased by her parents and her first husband Robert E. Richard and second husband Donald N. Carter. A memorial service is being arranged for later this July. Memorials may be made to Planned Parenthood or Northwest Harvest.
