Daniel Oscar Carr, Jr., 91, died on October 13, 2025. He was born May 1, 1934, to Daniel Oscar Carr, Sr., and Florence (Burris) Carr at Kansas City, Kansas. Dan graduated from Argentine High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and he received degrees from the University of Kansas City (now University of Missouri-Kansas City) (BS) and Iowa State University (PhD). His career was in healthcare education (biochemistry and molecular biology) at the University of Kansas Medical Center for 40 years.
On July 20, 1968, Dan married Caryle Jean Bender, and they resided in Overland Park, Kansas, for 38 years before “retiring to the farm” in Leavenworth County, Kansas in 2001. He moved to Prairie Village, Kansas in 2023. While in Overland Park, Dan was active in various civic organizations and several historical societies. Additionally, he participated in Overland Park neighborhood preservation efforts, was a member of the City’s planning commission and served as Overland Park City Councilman representing Ward 1 from 1991-1995. After moving to Leavenworth County, he continued his support of several museums and historical societies in Leavenworth, Kansas and Tonganoxie, Kansas.
Left to cherish the lovely memories he left behind are his sisters-in-law Ona (Bender) Wright, Ellsworth, Kansas, and Pat (Bender) Teach, South Hutchinson, Kansas and a host of beloved nieces and nephews. Dan was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, two sisters and a brother.
Private services will be held at a later date. Memorials are encouraged in Dan’s name to historical societies in Johnson, Leavenworth and Ellsworth Counties in Kansas; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Ellsworth, Kansas; St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School, Leavenworth, Kansas; Caryle Jean Bender Memorial Scholarship with the Smoky Hills Community Foundation, PO Box 265, Ellsworth, KS 67439; and to the Carr Research Award or the Caryle Bender Carr Lecture in Molecular Bioscience, both with KU Endowment, PO Box 928, Lawrence, KS 66044.
