Susan Gale Carr

Longtime Napa Valley floral designer, Susan Gale Carr, 80, died at home June 12, 2021, from complications of Parkinson’ Disease and Lewy Body dementia. Her children and several grandchildren were with her in her final hours.

Susan was the oldest of twins born Sept 9, 1940, in Ross, Calif., arriving three minutes before her sister, Carolyn. They were the first of Jack and Gale Younger’s four daughters.

Susan attended Ross Grammar School, Sir Francis Drake High School and College of Marin (where she met her future husband, Pierre ‘Pete’ Carr), graduating from UC Davis in 1962. A month later, she and Pete were married and spent an extended honeymoon traveling the western states in search of property where they could establish a ranch. The couple and the first of their three children lived briefly in Whitmore outside Redding before settling in the Sutter Buttes where they went on to remodel a Victorian-era farmhouse and create a cattle and almond ranch that became a popular gathering place for family and friends.

In addition to participating in every aspect of ranching, Susan served on the local school board and started The Turnip Shed, a small gift shop on the ranch featuring local handcrafted items.

She relocated to Napa in 1997 and eventually took on the care of her parents who had moved from Marin to the Carneros district in the mid-1970s. She supervised their care and managed their property until their deaths in 2012 (Gale) and 2014 (Jack).In Napa she was active with the Napa Valley Opera House League and the Arts Council of Napa Valley and was a longtime supporter of Chamber Music in Napa Valley and Music in the Vineyards.

After working briefly with Pat Friday Flowers in St. Helena, Susan began her own floral design business in Napa, Artiste Fleuriste, creating displays featuring plant material from her garden for wineries, weddings, local events and individuals. She delivered these in her Toyota truck with her much loved Jack Russell terrier, Maggie, riding shotgun.

When Susan was no longer able to care for herself, her daughter Cristen stepped in, eventually arranging for round-the-clock caregivers so Susan could remain safely in her home of 24 years.

She is survived by her three sisters: her twin, Carolyn Younger, of Napa; Nancy Campos (Dennis), Davis, Calif.; and Ann Hermecz (Glen), Dade City, Florida; her children, Garth Carr (Shelley), Forestville; Dr. Montague Carr (Rene), Carmichael CA; and Cristen Wolf, Napa; her grandchildren: Jackson Carr (Becky), Jessica Carr, Darby Carr, Riley Carr, and Alex Wolf; and a great-grandchild, Colton Carr, as well as by her ex-husband, Pierre Carr, and nieces and nephews Jake Campos, Jessica Campos, Jennifer Younger, Jeremiah Jaksich, Robyn Draheim (Dan) and Christopher Draheim (Jenny).

She is being remembered by family and friends as a creative, humorous, energetic woman with a strong work ethic, as well as a good friend, an accomplished sailor, an inventive cook, a skilled gardener and a woman with a strong sense of family. A private family gathering will be held at a later date and her ashes scattered in the garden she loved and tended for more than two decades.

Donations in her memory may be made to Collabria Care, Hospice in Napa, 414 South Jefferson, Napa CA 94559

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Susan Gale Carr, please visit our floral store.