JoAnne Carter, Former President Of Eastville Community Historical Society, Dies On April 17

JoAnne Williams Carter will always be remembered, her family said, for her unconditional love.And her homemade oatmeal raisin cookies.

Ms. Carter, 81, who was an active member of the Sag Harbor and Eastville communities, died on April 17 at her home in Sag Harbor, peacefully and surrounded by her family.

“Her cooking was extraordinary,” recalled daughter Tiffany Carter. “Had she not become a wife and mother—which was her joy in life, second only to her cooking—she wanted to be a restaurant owner, if she had been able to.”

Ms. Carter was active wherever she went. She was born in 1935 and raised in Brooklyn, and worked in the guidance department in the New York City public school system, in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. She became a full-time resident of Sag Harbor in 1997 and served as both the president and treasurer of the Eastville Community Historical Society, as well as on the board of the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum, the Christ Episcopal Church, and the Sag Harbor Village Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review.

She also served on the Society of Long Island Antiquities, the Brooklyn chapter of Links, the Brooklyn chapter of Jack and Jill of America Inc., the Choral Society, and the Brooklyn Museum.

She was married to Robert L. Carter for 53 years—and “very happily,” said Janine Carter, her other daughter. He died on Memorial Day in 2014.

In addition to her daughters, Tiffany and Janine Carter, she is survived by a son, Tony Prendatt-Carter, a brother, E.T. Williams Jr., and a sister, Thea W. Girigorie.

Tiffany Carter said her mother loved being “a wife, mother and servant of God” and always gave her one piece of advice: “You can only do what you can only do.”

“It took on many forms, for many different reasons: It was a wonderful quote—she said it a thousand times,” Ms. Carter said. “It was all-encompassing. It made you feel better. You were okay with whatever you were doing, because you were doing the best that you can do.”

“You could call her for advice … you could call her to say, ‘Did you see the moon?’” Janine Carter said. “She was really, really funny and lighthearted and kind—I hope I can be as kind.”

She explained that her mother’s artwork was also extremely important to her, and she even considered art to be her second career. She had most recently painted with watercolors, although she started with pastels, acrylics and oils. She often painted still life and portraits with pastels, and also painted portraits using oils and acrylics.

Georgette Grier-Key, president of the Eastville Community Historical Society, said Ms. Carter could “create art” from anything, even dust. “The dryer dustings—she would create art from dust,” she said.

“She protested the war, she was an active campaigner and voter and donated her time to local politics and national politics until, really, the last couple of years of her life,” said Janine Carter. “This will be the first vote she missed in I don’t know how long, maybe ever.”

Ms. Carter would often be seen having lunch at the American Hotel, eating the signature clams on the half shell or the scallops. “She was a world thinker, but she loved to live and act and buy locally,” Janine Carter said. “She had a very local and community sensibility.”

A memorial service will be planned for early this summer.