Harold Carr

HAROLD CARR (1933-2026)

Harold E. Carr, 92, native of Washington State and former vice -president of Public Relations and Advertising for the Boeing Company, died on 8-24-2026. He was a resident of Skyline on First Hill.

Carr retired in 1997 after a 35-year career in public relations. He directed company communications under three Boeing chief executives. He was named Director of Communications in 1984 and became the first vice-president of that function at Boeing in 1986. He joined the company in 1962 and spent his whole career in public relations.

Career highlights were being assigned to Houston during the Apollo—Saturn program, witnessing the launch of Apollo flights 4 through 11 (the first moon landing), coordinating worldwide sales tours for then new 767 and 757 jet transports in the early 1980s, and leading the effort to broaden the role of Boeing’s corporate communications.

Carr was born in Shelton, Washington on October 4, 1933 to Harold and Ann Carr, both native Washingtonians. He was raised in Kamilche between Shelton and Olympia, where his paternal grandparents first settled in 1884. He attended Irene S. Reed High School in Shelton graduating in 1951 and was president of his senior class.

He graduated from the University of Washington in 1955 with a degree in journalism. Carr was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He enlisted in the Army and served in the Army Security Agency in Formosa (now Taiwan) and the state of Virginia, rising to the rank of sergeant.

His first job out of the Army was as a reporter for the former Colfax Gazette, a weekly newspaper in Whitman County. In 1960 he became a reporter for the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick. That is where he met and married his wife, Joyce.

While in Boeing corporate, he served on several Seattle non-profit boards. These included Goodwill Industries, 5th Avenue Theater, the Seattle-King County Sports and Events Council, Downtown Seattle Association, Henry Art Gallery, the Museum of Flight, the Museum of History and Industry, and PONCHO.

At the Museum of Flight, he was a trustee from 1990 until 2022, including two years as president of the board. He belongs to the Washington Athletic Club, Tyee Club, and 101 Club, where he was past president.

Carr was a sports buff and news junkie. He enjoyed reading American history and biographies, especially of past presidents. He was his family’s genealogy keeper.

After retirement, he and Joyce traveled extensively, making long trips to India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa and within the United States. They accomplished their goal of visiting the burial sites of all U.S. presidents.

He was a devoted Washington Husky (football season ticket holder for nearly 60 years) and Seattle Mariner fan. He attended his first Husky game against Notre Dame in 1948. His love of baseball went back to the Leo Lassen-broadcast days in the late 1940’s. One season, he hitchhiked from Shelton to Seattle to attend every Rainier Sunday doubleheader.

In 2006, he was named to the Alumni Hall of Fame by the Department of Communications at the University of Washington.

Carr is survived by his wife, Joyce, three sons; Bob (Tisha), Greg, and Ron; 5 grandchildren: Tia, Tyson, Ronald, Derek and Isaac. He also has a surrogate son, Michael “Mike” Simutin.

A celebration of life date is yet to be determined. Memorial donations may be made to the Museum of Flight Foundation, the 101 Club, Washington Athletic Club, or Kline Galland Hospice.