Carter Craigie, N3AO, passed away on August 1, 2024, at age 86. Licensed since 1981, he was an ARRL Life Member and Maxim Society Member. He was married to past ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, for 49 years.
Carter’s public service communications included appointments as Eastern Pennsylvania Section Traffic Manager and ARES Emergency Coordinator for Chester County, Pennsylvania. After moving to Blacksburg, Virginia, he was active as a SKYWARN net control for the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Blacksburg. He participated in statewide weather disaster drills as a voice net control from WX4RNK at the NWS office while Kay staffed the digital communications station.
A past president of the Mid-Atlantic Amateur Radio Club in suburban Philadelphia, he was also a member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club. Along with Kay, he taught Novice license classes in the 1980s. After 25 years on the faculty of Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania, he retired as professor of English and Communications.
Carter enjoyed kit building, CW, QRP, and outdoor operating. Once he placed his canoe in a stream scarcely deep enough to float the boat in order to operate a water-themed QRP contest, to the puzzled delight of neighborhood children.
During Kay’s tenure as ARRL President, Carter traveled with her to conventions and conferences in the US and other countries. Someone who never knew a stranger, he made many friends on those travels with whom he stayed in touch on the air and through social media.
ARRL extends sympathy to past ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, who shared this remembrance.