Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother

Patricia Steeper Carl, 95, died peacefully in her sleep on January 7.

She was born Sammie Patricia Moyer on January 28, 1927, in Lawrence, Kansas to a U.S. Cavalry officer and his wife, and was the third of four daughters.

After graduating from Kansas State University with a degree in entomology, Patricia married her high school sweetheart, Charles Steeper. They had three children and moved from Kansas to Culver City, California, then to Seattle, Washington before finally settling in Claremont, where she earned a master’s degree in early childhood education and began a career teaching kindergarten at Longfellow Elementary School in Azusa.

Charles died in 1985 and she decided to retire. She traveled extensively with her sister and her children and reconnected at a high school reunion with a young crush, Rudy Carl. The two enjoyed 25 years of marriage, splitting their time between her husband’s family lake house in Wisconsin and her home in California.

“Patricia will be remembered by everyone she met for her infectious smile, which could light up any room, her constant kindness and delight in play,” her family shared. “Even in her nineties, she would happily sit down on the ground with her grandchildren and put a puzzle together or sing a song. She knew the importance of meeting a child at their level to interact.”

She loved music and singing, joining with various groups and small orchestras throughout her life as a flautist. In Wisconsin, she and Rudy regularly volunteered with a local music school at summer fundraisers and concert series.

She is survived by her husband, Rudy Carl; three children; four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.