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Kelley Lynne Carter, 57, of Bothell, Washington, passed away unexpectedly on July 8, 2021, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Kelley was born January 27, 1964, in Athens, Ohio, to James B. Knaus and Gail Klima. She was preceded in death by her aunt Nancy Rybak, her cousin Jimmy Koran, and her best friend Tony Waid. In life, Kelley earned her master’s degree in education, and taught at Normandy High School in Ohio for many years. While there she coached boys and girls swimming plus other sports. She was a competitive synchronized swimmer as a youth and masters teams. She loved working with children and teaching others how to swim. Kelley was a kind person who touched many people’s lives through her caring personality, and through her love for cooking. She is survived by a large and loving family, including her devoted husband Chris Carter; her father James Knaus (Linda Knaus) and her mother Gail Klima-Knaus; her brother James Scott Knaus; her sister-in-law Shari Lundberg (Kjell); her parents-in-law Harold and Carolyn Carter; her step-siblings Carla Ward and Christopher Ward (Shelly); her nieces and nephews Elin Lundberg, Jered Ward, Zachary Ward, Matthew Ward and Danielle Knaus, aunt Joyce Flaherty; her best friend Michelle Chase, and extended family and friends. A celebration of Life for Kelley will be held on Friday, July 16, 2021, at 8:00 AM on the beach in front of "A Place at the Beach IV". In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kelley’s memory to: Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville, WA (https://www.homewardpet.org/) or to the Special Olympics (https://www.specialolympics.org/get-involved/donate). Eulogy - From Husband Chris Carter Thank you all for coming. We really appreciate the effort you took to be here, traveling short and long distances. It means a lot. Kelley left our world on Thursday morning July 8th. We were fortunate enough to have shared 17 years of marriage, and I would do anything to spend more time with her. We met at, you guessed it… the pool, at Ohio University. She truly loved pools and the smell of chlorine. She even liked it when I smelled of chlorine. The pool was one of the ways she connected with people, and it was the magnet that brought us together. Wherever we traveled, from the west coast to the east coast to the Dominican Republic, she knew where the public pool was in every town so we could swim laps together. It was at those pools where she taught, inspired, and cared for the young and the old. The high schoolers thought of her as a great coach, and the best aunt they all wish they had. The ladies in her water aerobics class in Washington called her their “mother hen”. Kelley was a very talented synchronized swimmer as a youth and recently at masters level for many years. She coached a synchronized swimmer from 5th to 11th grade, and reconnected with her when she went to Ohio University. She taught older Dominican kids how to teach swimming so that they could in turn teach their younger classmates. She was a devoted teacher in and out of the water. If we saw an educational booth on a walk, you know we were stopping to look. She especially loved teaching children. She gave her time to nieces and nephews and beyond. One of the kids she nannied wrote her recently saying “Thankyou for making me learn young – it’s made all the difference for me growing up!” Now, if you aren’t a child or a swimmer, that’s ok because then you probably got to taste her cooking. If you were lucky enough to get to enjoy her food, then you know how passionate she was, and how much she liked to learn new dishes. Seafood boils, fish, fish sauces,… and her sausage gravy was the best. She loved creating stock from the scraps of one meal to make the next meal that much better. You had to save your cobs and crabshells for her. She loved going out to eat too – little hole in the wall places to fine dining, as long as the food was good. There were countless dinners here at Bimini’s and memorable times at Bliss in Cabarette. Kelley had a big love for animals whom I owe to her both Lilly and Lucky who will miss her loving and caring for them. Kelley had a big heart. Rarely would a day go by at our house without an episode of Andy Griffith or Little House on the Prairie on our TV. She was a loving wife, and a good friend to have on your side. I was special enough to have a special clause in our marriage: any time the wind was blowing I had a free pass to get out of any commitments. How cool is that? And she was fun. From diving in Bora Bora to pet sharks and eels, to crazy walks home after an evening out, including a tumble in the ocean that we laughed about for weeks after. We laughed a lot. In closing, simply put, I miss my wacky, funny, sentimental, lover and cheery friend.

Tributes

Kelley Lynne Carter

January 27, 1964 - July 8, 2021