Doris Maurine (Hunt) Carman

On 11/15/2013, Doris passed peacefully after sunset at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center after a brief illness.

She slipped gently into that good night surrounded by her loving daughter, Cindy “CK” Carman, son Ken Carman (Jr.), and daughter-in-law, Annika Carman. Her sister Bettye Conant and grandchildren, Ivana Carman and Erik Carman, and nieces and nephews also survive her. Doris, born in Wellington in the Texas panhandle in 1918 to Jesse Grover and Willie Preston Hunt, had 2 sisters and 2 brothers. She was often called Maurine or “Sister,” and sometimes “Red” for her bright red, naturally curly hair. Because her mother was chronically ill, she took the role of matriarch growing up, helping raise her siblings and often walking to the market alone at 6 years old to buy groceries and then help prepare meals.

During the depression she made all the clothes for the family (including restyling men’s suits into women’s suits to reuse the fabric), was seamstress for the “rich ladies” of the town who shopped at Neiman Marcus but needed alterations, managed the family finances, and was taught to always save $1 even if she only had $10. In high school, she won the statewide design contest and was voted as “most likely to be a fashion designer in Paris.” Doris dreamed of being a designer and received an Associate Degree in home economics. But when WWII broke out, she was hired by civil service as an instructor to teach electronics of the B-17 to airmen, even though she knew nothing about electronics. She learned quickly because she was very intelligent and motivated, and it was here that she met her future husband Kenneth Carman (Sr.) who was training to be a B-17 bombardier and later pilot, and who would retire as Lt. Colonel in Ft. Walton Beach, Fl., after 31 years in the Air Force.

Doris was a dedicated military wife, relocating countless times, such as when she moved straight from tropical Puerto Rico to rural Missouri in the middle of winter with a 3-year-old and an infant while her pilot husband was gone on Temporary Duty. Doris raised her two children in a loving home with beauty and grace, teaching core values of justice and fairness to all while she nurtured their talents and aspirations. After Lt. Col. Carman passed prematurely in 1978, Doris became a successful, self-taught investor in real estate and the stock market, still following her stocks right up until her death. She had a sharp mind and was reading 3 newspapers and watching the financial news daily only a month prior to her passing.

Doris was also a world traveler, from San Miguel de Allende, to Havana, to Seoul, Korea—frequently on her own—ultimately visiting over 30 countries in her lifetime. She always had her signature sparkling smile, a compliment and a kind word for everyone. She never met a stranger. Doris was an elegant, stylish lady, impeccably dressed, and never left the house without her lipstick on, even to just get the mail. She was an avid reader and conversationalist, and she never stopped learning. She contributed to many charities and was empathetic and loving to all who met her. She will be dearly missed.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six o’clock until eight o’clock in the evening, on Saturday, the 23th of November 2013, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas.

Funeral services will be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, the 24th of November 2013, in the Colonial Chapel of Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas. Interment will follow in Austin Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Cook-Walden Funeral Home.

Condolences may be sent to www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com.