The beloved mastermind behind Sonoma County’s legendary Mom’s Apple Pie has passed away at the age of ninety-five.
Per the Press Democrat, Betty Carr, born Michiko Kameshima in Japan to a lineage that included the country’s last true Samurai, passed away on May 13th surrounded by her family. Carr famously gave up a privileged life in Japan, moving to the United States alone in 1949 to forge her own path, eventually opening the iconic Gravenstein Highway storefront in 1980.
Her sons remember her as a brave, independent woman who transformed a tiny fruit stand into a local institution through her meticulous dedication to handmade, high-quality baking.
While family services will be private, community donations in her honor are being directed to Hessel Church in Sebastopol.