Patricia Staffel Carter

Patricia Staffel Carter, age 99, passed away on November 7, 2024, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Patricia was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 14, 1925, to Albertine and Gerald Staffel. She was a 1943 graduate of Brackenridge High School and a 1947 graduate of the St. Louis Institute of Music, with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, and a 1950 graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder where she earned a Master of Music. She married Dr. William Porter Carter and performed as a piano duo throughout their marriage. She believed in the power of music to build bridges between cultures and traveled to 40 countries presenting performances and masterclasses in many of them. She made friends everywhere she went while maintaining a private piano studio of innumerable students across multiple generations. She was a member of the Music Teachers National Association for 50 years and honored as a Foundation Fellow for distinguished service to the music teaching profession, as well as serving in multiple professional organizations. She published five books on sight-reading music and a translation of her late piano professor Gottfriend Galston’s Studienbuch, and obtained the Gottfried Galston Music Collection, the Galston-Bussoni Archives and the Galston Educational Endowment Fund for the University of Tennessee. She retired as Associate Professor of Piano in 2015 at the age of 90 and continued volunteer teaching at the Joy of Music School. Patricia was predeceased by daughter Jan Patricia Carter, husband Dr. William P. Carter, brothers Gerald Staffel (Dorothy) and Dr. Edward Staffel (Doris), and gentleman friend Jon Manchip White. She is mourned by daughter Julie Charisse Carter (Yasin Sarayrah), and granddaughter Lili Carter Sarayrah, all of Knoxville, as well as brother Ferd Staffel (Charlene) and extended family of San Antonio. A memorial will be held at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 on January 14, 2025, at 6pm, with a livestream link available at TVUUC.org. Donations in Patricia’s memory may be made to the Joy of Music School, the TVUUC, or a charity of your choice.

Tributes

Patricia Staffel Carter

January 14, 1925 - November 7, 2024