Valerie Gayle Knapp Carr, 81, was born on February 14, 1942, and passed away on January 23, 2024. Val "Big Red" was a joyful light to the world and shared that joy with everyone she met. She passed that light to her family, Dr. Richard "Dick" P Carr, Jr; three red-headed daughters, Kristin (Aaron Squyres), Carrie (Justin Hill), and Kelli (George Murphy); and grandchildren Kennedy & Katherine Squyres, Valerie Ruth, Jay, Cooper & Addison Hill, and Liam & Colin Murphy; and bonus daughter and family, Lisette, Michael, and Carlos Yang.

Val was born on February 14, 1942, in Alamo, Texas, the youngest of Dales Knapp and Barbara McAdams Knapp's three children, Spencer (deceased) and Barbara Knapp Austin. After graduating from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School, Val became a Longhorn at the University of Texas at Austin where she was an Alpha Delta Pi. She married Dr. Richard P Carr, Jr., on June 27, 1964, and set out to make friends with every stranger she met, all with an incomparable, infectious laugh.

As a teacher in Albuquerque, NM and Evanston, IL, Val employed creative teaching techniques that included letting her students spray paint her car. As newlyweds, Val and Dick received a color TV as a wedding present, and it was the only set in their building. They would come home to find friends had picked the lock and were on their couch watching television. That sense of community would be the hallmark of their lives as their family grew. The Carrs moved to Little Rock in 1980 and settled into the Hillsborough neighborhood. Hundreds of gatherings were held on the deck and in the basement with kids and adults alike signing the wall in the basement and admiring the photos of parties, vacations, and political campaigns.

Also in the neighborhood, Val was notorious for Halloween decorating. There was a love/hate relationship with the neighborhood kids who were both terrified and desperate to see what was on the porch.

Val's interests were eclectic and included barrel racing as a young girl, classic movies, cooking, gardening, grape-stomping, tap dancing, music, gambling, margaritas, and politics. Some of those interests would converge as in her habit of betting on Black 22 because of the movie Casablanca. She served on the boards of various groups including Arkansas Choral Society, Hillsborough Property Owners Association, and LRSD PTAs. Val was a force at Asbury United Methodist Church, where she was a member of the Emmanuel Sunday School Class, sang in the choir, organized in United Methodist Women (UMW), and distinguished herself as top storyteller during Vacation Bible Schools, as well as other ministries of the church.

Anyone who knew Val knew that she could make a yellow dog Democrat look pale by comparison. Her love of politics was an integral part of her being and she worked on countless campaigns for Democrats in local and national elections, as well as many social justice movements. Her views and candidates were visible on her clothes, buttons, and especially with the bumper stickers covering the back of the "Green Machine" and her van.

Val made every single human she ever met feel welcomed, and that they belonged in her circle. In addition, she rescued strays everywhere she went–animals and people. Anyone could find fun,
acceptance, and inclusion with Val Carr. She had friends from every background and loved them all unconditionally and will be dearly missed by them.

Val was preceded in death by her father and mother, Dales and Barbara Knapp; brother, Spencer Knapp; and sisters-in-law, Constance "Coni" Carr Houghtling and Carolyn Carr Kinder. She is survived by her immediate family and sister, Barbara Knapp Austin (E. Peoria, IL); brothers-in-law, David Carr (San Antonio, TX) and Lynn Kinder (Michigan, ND), and sisters-in-law, Linda Carr (also San Antonio, TX) and Joy Lynn Knapp (Conroe, TX), and other family and special friends. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 17, at 10:30 a.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 1700 Napa Valley Drive. Donations in Val's memory can be made to Asbury United Methodist Church, AR Planned Parenthood Great Plains, or Stew Pot.