Price Edward Carter
Father. Pilot. Adventurer. Advocate.
Born Feb. 7, 1957, in Vancouver; died June 20, 2025, in Kelowna, B.C., of medical assistance in dying; aged 68.
Price Edward CarterCourtesy of family
Price Carter seized every new day like it was his last. His thirst for adventure began during childhood, perhaps sparked by watching slide shows of his parents’ faraway travels with his six siblings. He dreamed of becoming a pilot.
Bowen Island in Howe Sound, B.C., may also have influenced him. As a child, his family spent five months a year here and he ran around barefoot with his brother Stevie. They explored the forest and built tree houses in the wilderness.
In 1974, Price climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of friends and planted a pink flamingo on the summit for the fun of it. In 1976, he graduated high school wearing a powder blue tuxedo. He could have pursued a career in anything, but he chose to follow his first love: flying. That fall, he went to flight school. He earned his commercial pilot licence and worked out of Yukon and Whitehorse until he was hired by Air Canada a few years later.
Despite his day job, he always found time for new exploits. In 1984, he rode a motorcycle up the coast of Australia and in 1992, he jumped at the adventure to help crew a 42-foot sailboat from Hawaii to Victoria.
In 1990, he also helped his 69-year-old mother fulfill a lifelong dream of duplicating Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. They completed the journey in just 21.
Luck bloomed in 1993 when he and his former spouse welcomed twins Grayson and Lane; Jenna arrived two years later.
Price was a gifted storyteller, treasured by his children for his wildly imaginative tales. One summer, during the children’s annual swim test, they spotted something gold glimmering in the water below. After much pleading, he dove for it and surfaced with a small treasure chest, filled with chocolate coins and plastic gems. Price had placed them underwater for his delighted children to find. And Halloween parties were infamous as he MacGyvered the wine cellar to recreate King Tut’s tomb.
Price had a laugh that boomed through rooms and mornings in the Carter household usually consisted of waking up to hear him belting out his favourite showtunes, much to his children’s groggy dismay. They were also not fond of his penchant for doing yoga poses in public.
Price enjoyed having lively conversations about current events at the dinner table. He was always true to himself, steadfast in his ways and unwilling to bend for anyone. He was fine charting his own path even if it meant doing it alone. This is what inspired Jenna, his youngest, to apply to Ukraine for her first posting as a diplomat.
Price was also an adored grandparent. He took centre stage at the kitchen island to entertain granddaughters Mya and Ada. He encouraged them to learn not by words alone but by all five senses. A favourite activity was picking peaches in the backyard (even if they were store-bought in October and placed in the tree).
You could usually find Price swinging on a hammock outside with a good book or tinkering in his workshop. In retirement, Price spent his early mornings gliding through the morning mist with his beloved rowing team.
He met his second wife, Danielle, the day before Valentines in 2014. They enjoyed each other’s company and conquered fears together, including cascading down Class 3 rapids in New Zealand. They shared love of the outdoors with his stepchildren, Courtney and Taylor, and their partners, Gian and Claire, going cross-country skiing, hiking, cycling and exploring Vancouver Island and the Okanagan.
More than a decade ago, Price’s mother, Kay Carter, paved the way for Canadians to have the right to die with dignity. Her Supreme Court case led to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation. When Price was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2024, that advocacy gave him the ability to make the same choice. On the day he died, his wife and kids cuddled him close, held his great big hands and shared funny stories of a life lived with optimistic abandon and an irrepressible spirit, all while the most fantastic thunderstorm rumbled away outside.
Jenna Carter is Price Carter’s daughter.
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