Pamela Smoot Carter was born on April 22, 1948 and died on July 11. 2021. 

Pamela grew up in Indian Hills. When she was about 7 years old, she and her family moved into a cabin that did not have running water or electricity. She described her childhood as wonderful, filled with horses, dogs, and exploring her beloved mountains. Because she grew up in the mountains and always loved hiking and camping, the one thing she really missed about being nondisabled was the ability to be in the mountains.   Towards the end of her life she discovered Wilderness on Wheels which is an accessible hiking trail in the mountains.  This gave her an incredible sense of peace and joy and our family asked that in lieu of flowers memorial donations in her name go to Wilderness On Wheels

We asked that funds be used to help people who do not have transportation get to this magical place. Getting up there was out of reach for her for much of her life as a disabled person, and it was only the last few years of her life that we were able to afford to rent a van and get up to the mountains (thanks to a program allowing people on Medicaid to work and keep benefits). She would have wanted to make sure everyone has this experience.

She joined the disability community approximately 30 years ago after having a massive stroke caused by an over the counter cold medication.  Before her stroke she was a lawyer, but only 5 months out of law school practicing corporate law and hating every minute of it.  She often said the best thing about having the stroke was it gave her the freedom to stay home and raise her children...and never having to put on pantyhose again.  

Pamela’s pride and joy were her two sons; Chase a helicopter pilot and Tom a nonprofit office professional.  She cherished being a mother above all else.   When they were in elementary school she volunteered at their school and ended up teaching numerous students (some of whom had been written off) how to read and hosted tutoring sessions at home after school.  She would reward kids who achieved milestones with trips to the zoo or local museums.   She loved her home being the place where all children would want to congregate.    At one point her 700 square foot home held not only 2 adults who used wheelchairs, 2 kids who always had at least one friend apiece over, 4 dogs, 7 cats and 2 snakes.  That does not count the time one of the dogs was not fixed in time and the 9 puppies that came that year.  This home also held community holiday events where wheelchairs were crammed in so tight no one could move and tutoring/child care sessions with an additional 5-10 kids.

When she was newly disabled, she volunteered at the Atlantis community and joined ADAPT --it was on an ADAPT action where she met Julie Reiskin who became her life partner.  They always said they met in jail.. but actually met before they got arrested.  That was her first and only arrest, but her activism flame never went out.  The last event she was able to attend was a unity rally after Charlottesville and there were countless ones in between the ADAPT action in 1993 and that last one.  She cheered on the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 even though she was not able to attend in person. 

Pamela was a writer and began writing her first stories at eight.  She loved writing fiction but also wrote essays and pieces about disability, both physical and mental health disabilities.   She did a series for a time called “Dispatches from Planet X” as she felt that becoming disabled was like landing on a new planet that non-disabled people did not understand.

While she officially joined the disability community after acquiring a physical disability, Pamela lived with Bipolar disorder her entire life.  She often said she spent half of her 20’s on psych holds and the other half lying about where she had been.   Much of her writing focused on stigma around mental health issues.   She never wished to be anything other than who she was--she did not see having a psychiatric condition as the problem but society's reactions to it...though she could have done without the hair loss and weight gain caused by the psych meds that she chose to take. 

Pamela had a sticker on one of her wheelchairs that said “Well behaved women rarely make history” and was proud of being outspoken and of misbehaving regularly.  She often said she lacked an edit function between her brain and her mouth and was known for saying exactly what was on her mind.