STEPHEN MILES CARR (1951-2021)

On Saturday I received the October issue of The Numismatist, somewhat delayed in the mail. I was saddened to read of the death of an old friend, Steve Carr.

Carr was an active member of the Early American Coppers Club [EAC]. A regular feature of Penny-Wise was Carr's Talking Beginners articles in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Then he and Doug Bird taught the Introduction to Early American Copper course at ANA Summer Seminar for twenty years 1999 to 2018. He promoted exhibiting and also taught a counterfeit detection class at EAC conventions. He contributed a column on large cents for Numismatic News.

Carr was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 3, 1951. He was an award-winning swimmer and track athlete in high school. He received a B. A. in industrial technology from Hanover College in 1974 and M.A. in history from Purdue University in 1977. He went back for his B.S. teaching degree from University of Wyoming in 1987. He was married to Katherine Ann Thurston with a daughter and two sons.

He taught industrial technology in high school in Wyoming before teaching automotive technology at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, for more than thirty years, 1996 to 2017. He was a member of the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America. With this interest, he collected parts and frames to rebuild cars.

In March of 2012 the EAC and JRCS convention was in Buffalo, New York. Steve was there for the EAC convention and I was there for JRCS. The convention closed on Sunday morning and we each had a few hours to kill before our return flights. We walked over to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.

There was a program there for Armed Forces Day. After the ceremony we walked through a cruiser (USS Little Rock), destroyer (USS The Sullivans) and submarine (USS Croaker) at the museum. It was a great experience to share with a friend and a reminder that sometimes the best experiences at a convention are away from the convention.

Carr catalogued coins at the Smithsonian Institution. For this he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Numismatics from the ANA in 2015. Carr received an ANA Presidential Award in 2020. He died at home surrounded by family on July 9, 2021.

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