Raeanna L Carter

Raeanna Louise Burkhart, a native of Los Altos Hills, California, passed away peacefully, after a brief illness, on Dec. 19, 2025, at the age of 86 in Lihu‘e. Rae, as she was known, was born on Nov. 6, 1939, in Palo Alto, California. Her father, Alton, owned and operated a feed store while her mother, Elsie, was the business’ bookkeeper. The family were also prominent apricot orchardists on their Los Altos Hills farmland. Rae graduated from Mountain View High School and San Jose State University, after which she had a long career in administration with the Hewlett- Packard Company in Palo Alto.

In 1985, she married James Charles Carter, Jr., an engineer and project manager in the medical division at Varian, also in Palo Alto. Not long afterwards, both retired from the electronic industry and left Silicon Valley to build their dream home in Princeville. She became keenly interested in Hawaiian culture, its people, traditions, and flora. Rae quickly became involved in numerous community activities, especially at Wai‘oli Hui‘ia Church in Hanalei where she was also a mission docent. Rae and Jim lovingly guided their hanai children to adulthood. After moving to Lihuʻe, Rae became a tour guide at the Grove Farm Museum. During this time, she developed numerous friendships at the Regency Hulei‘a and her church ohana (family) at Calvary Chapel, Lihu‘e.

In fact, Raeanna made friends wherever she went and was deeply loved by young and old. Her family consisted of intimate friends on Kaua‘i and across the mainland. In addition to the many lives she touched, including those of her hanai and stepchildren, she is survived by her nephew Robert Snell of Huntsville, Alabama, and niece Shari Nafus (née Snell) of Decatur, Texas.

A service of remembrance and celebration of life will be held at Calvary Chapel, Lihu‘e, on Jan. 16, 2026, followed by a private interment at Kaua‘i Veterans Cemetery, Hanapepe.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the mission fund at Calvary Chapel, Lihu‘e, in Rae’s name would be appreciated.