Archives West Finding Aid

Alice Mae Carr (she also sometimes referred to herself as Alice "May" Carr), was born September 23, 1909, in Negaunee, Michigan, to Arthur Jay Carr and Lulu ("Lola") May Pearce. Her father worked as a chief dispatcher for the Northern Pacific Railway, and the family was living in Livingston, Montana, when Alice began her time as a student at Montana State College (MSC) in 1928. She attended MSC from 1928-1933, and was an active member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She lived in Hamilton Hall for much of her time at MSC. Towards the end of her studies, she may have lived at the MSC Home Management House. By 1933, Carr's parents had moved to Missoula. Carr graduated from MSC in June of 1933 with a degree in Home Economics, and returned to Missoula to live with her parents for a time before moving to southern California briefly, where she experimented with starting an "agency for training girls to care for babies while their parents are on vacation." By 1935, Carr had accepted a position as a chef at St. John's Hospital in Helena. In 1936, she married Elwin George Richards, and they had a son in 1938. From 1938 on, Carr lived in San Diego County, California, with her family. She passed away on November 28, 1985.