Jean Phillips Carter See

Jean Phillips Carter See, 86, died April 29 at her Bainbridge Island home surrounded by her family after a long illness.

She was born in Bremerton in 1920, the daughter of Dayton Otis Carter and Clara Carter.

Her mother was a pioneer schoolteacher in Kitsap County, at Central Valley Elementary School and at the Holly School.

At age 15, Jean graduated from Silverdale High School and attended the University of Washington in music for two years. She was an accomplished pianist and soprano.

From 1939 to 1943, she worked in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where she met her husband, Samuel D. See, a Naval officer.

They lived with their three daughters in Seattle until 1969, when Sam, an engineer with the Standard Oil Co. of California, was transferred to Boise, and then to Spokane.

Jean was an outgoing individual whose main interests, aside from her family, were music, gardening and traveling. She was an avid reader, always keenly interested in ideas, and instilled the love of music, books and ideas in her children and grandchildren.

She and her husband made numerous trips to England, Ireland, Europe and China, and prepared slideshow presentations, particularly of the gardens they visited.

She and Sam enjoyed trips to the Yakima Valley at harvest time, where they gathered wine grapes for the vintages they made for 30 years. Among other activities, Jean was active for nearly 40 years in PEO, and for two years was president of the Foley Library Associates in Spokane.

She and her husband lived in Spokane for 31 years before they moved to Poulsbo in 2002. In 2004, they moved to Bainbridge Island, where two of their daughters live with their families.

She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Samuel See; daughters Katherine See Kennedy and Janet See, both of Bainbridge Island, and Emily Wilson of New Westminster, B.C., Canada; two granddaughters, Megan Kennedy and Jessica Kennedy of Seattle; two grandsons, Samuel Reddy of Bainbridge Island and Ian Wilson of Vancouver, B.C.; and two sons-in-law, Alfred Kitching and William Reddy.