Thomas C. Carr

**You may view the service at this link:https://youtu.be/zO_OPLPW1Rw  

Thomas Calvin Carr passed away peacefully at home with his loving family on January 31, 2021, at the age of 87. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on May 31, 1933, to Marie Berkeland Carr and Glenn Carr, Tom attended grade school in Grand Forks and high school in Warren, Minnesota. He sang in his church choir and was active in Boy Scouts; he attained the rank of Eagle Scout and was admitted to the Order of the Arrow. After a year at the University of North Dakota, Tom enlisted in the Army and was posted to Germany. He made good use of his weekend passes to explore Europe and indulge his taste for operatic performances and art museums.

   On his return to the States, Tom enrolled in Moorhead State College where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English and business education. While at MSC, he took part in the college’s musical productions. He met and married his wife, Bobbie (Roberta), during his senior year. Upon his graduation, Tom and Bobbie moved to Oregon where Tom began his teaching career and where their daughter, Jane, was born. After teaching for several years, he accepted a job with the State of California in Sacramento and took evening classes at Sacramento State University, earning his California lifetime teaching credential. In 1981 Tom and Bobbie moved to Monterey, California and Tom began work with the California Dept. of Fish and Game. During this time he served as an arbitrator for the California State Employees Association. A member of St. Philip’s Lutheran Church in Carmel Valley, he sang in the choir and took a regular turn as cantor there. He sang for various functions such as the Scandinavian American Christmas parties and Burns’ Night with the Scottish Society. He sang in the Monterey Symphony Chorus and spent four seasons with the Troupers of the Gold Coast, singing, acting, and dancing. He was employed at the Elkhorn Slough Visitors Center at the time he retired in 1995. Much of the next 20 years was spent overseas as Bobbie’s career as a librarian took them to Egypt, Guam, Okinawa, and Germany. Tom was at home and made friends wherever he lived; language barriers did not exist for him. He taught English as a Second Language to Eritrean refugees in Cairo; in Egypt and Germany he took university classes and enjoyed field trips with his archaeology and art classes. He sang in church and university choirs every place he lived.

   Tom was kind, friendly, funny, generous, and civic-minded. He liked singing, taking photographs and painting, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and sailing. He enjoyed travelling and planning trips. He loved Norway and was delighted to find a branch of his mother’s family in the Setesdal Valley. He was fortunate to be able to visit them several times over the years.

   Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Eugene. He is survived by his wife and daughter, his sister Margaret Stolee, his grandchildren, nieces and a nephew. He will be laid to rest in East Walle Cemetery near Thompson, North Dakota, where the church is modeled after the church in Valle, in the Setesdal Valley, Norway.