Berit Henriksen Carter

Berit Henriksen "Pup" Carter - Steadfast, quiet and determined. Independent and self-reliant. Selfless. Kind, thoughtful and patient. Upbeat and curious. Caring and comforting. Warm and welcoming. Watchful. Meticulous and efficient. Never complaining; never criticizing. Gentle, generous, giving and loving. Always helping and rarely resting. Those words and phrases just begin to describe our mom. Born in Bergen, Norway on September 11, 1914, Berit was the eldest daughter of Ingolf and Gudrun Henriksen. Mom loved the sea and the Norwegian summers on the island of Frekhaug, gathering mussels for bait, fishing and navigating her yellow row boat around the fjord. Ingolf, a skilled metal worker who made shipâ??s implements, immigrated to the U.S. and found work in New York in 1927. A year later he sent for his wife, two daughters and two sons. Together, they lived in a brownstone walkup in Brooklyn, where Berit attended public schools and later, Brooklyn College. She embraced learning and found joy in her sisters of Alpha Delta Pi. Mom brought much love and happiness to our family. Her ever-youthful exuberance earned her the nickname, Pup. Her death on May 21, 2010 left an unfathomable void and profound sadness for us all. But her love and care so greatly enriched our hearts and lives that we are connected to her for all eternity. Pup is survived by her three children, Dale Levert (George), Frank Carter (Annie), Sue Barnes (Ben); 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Donations can be made to Hospice of Petaluma, 416 Payran St, Petaluma, CA 94952; Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC 20016; or Alpha Delta Pi, 1386 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306. Family assisted by PARENT-SORENSEN MORTUARY & CREMATORY, Petaluma. The Worldâ??s Fair of 1939 was an exciting location for a blind date, to be followed by a sustaining courtship and 53 year marriage to H. James Carter, an electrical engineer. The war years were brightened by the birth of a daughter, Dale Berit and a son, Frank Alfred II. Another daughter, Susan Collington, followed soon after the warâ??s end. At home in Chevy Chase, MD, mom sewed, cooked, baked and cleaned. She dearly loved roses and carefully tended her garden to yield the delicate flowers that brightened our home.