Michael Edward Carr

Michael Edward Carr, 77, linguist, and longtime resident of Kapa`a, HI passed away at his residence on May 26th, 2025 of natural causes. Born in Palo Alto, CA to Dr. Edward and Ruth Carr, Michael grew up in Overland Park, KS, graduating from Shawnee Mission West HS. Michael completed his undergraduate work at The University of Colorado and The University of Kansas. Michael married the love of his life, Terry Reardon, in 1972 after meeting on a blind date, and thereafter the two never spent a single day apart. Michael served in the Peace Corps after university and eventually earned a Ph. D. in Oriental Studies in 1979 from the University of Arizona. He served faithfully on the faculty in the Center for Language Studies at Otaru University of Commerce, Hokkaido, Japan for 20 years. There, he and Terry fell deeper in love with Japan and its people, language and culture. Fluent in Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian, Michael published extensively on Chinese and Japanese linguistics and lexicography during his career and well after his retirement in 1997. His crowning achievement was the publication of the New Japanese-English Character Dictionary in 1990. Michael spent his retirement in Kauai as a freelance translator and generously volunteered his expertise to Wikipedia, writing hundreds of scholarly articles in linguistics and other related fields. He was also an active board member with the Julian Jaynes Society. Thoughtful and generous, Michael (usually wearing one of his trademark yellow T-shirts) enjoyed time with friends in Kauai and family members visiting from the mainland. He loved the outdoors, whether working in his garden, biking, or kayaking. Michael is survived by his devoted wife Terry, his elder sister Mindy Reeves of Fresno, his niece Rebecca (reeves) Pope of Clovis, CA and his nephew Scott Reeves of Sacramento.

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