Carol Christopher, 67

Carol Christopher died on August 4 at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She was 67.

Carol led an adventurous life full of travel, photography, kayaking, sports, family, creativity and so much more.

She was born in Oak Bluffs and graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 1977. She sought adventure through photography after inheriting her father’s camera. She described her discovery and love of photography in her own words:

“Martha’s Vineyard is unique, for it is blessed with a community that prides itself on the conservation of the land. For a nature photographer, it is a gold mine in that it holds several conservation groups: Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, Sheriff’s Meadow Properties and Trustees of Reservations. There was never a time where I found myself without a photographic opportunity or new location to discover.

“I began my serious interest in photography long ago when my father passed away from a brain tumor. I inherited his 35mm Minolta, and although I never really did much with it at first, I took some mediocre shots. I enjoyed using it. I brought it to Fenway Park with me one day and found it was too old to do the things I wanted to do with it, so I purchased a new camera: an Olympus SP550UZ digital camera.”

Carol’s photographs were once used by the Maine office of tourism, and her “An Island Christmas” holiday greeting cards were sold on the Island during the winters. She was also the longtime official team photographer of the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks baseball team.

She spent her good days kayaking in Lake Tashmoo and the Lagoon, often spending hours on Saturdays in the sun, escaping the chaos of the summer season and bobbing on the water.

During the winter months, she expressed her creativity indoors through jewelry making, sewing and crafts. In recent years, she created handmade mala meditation necklaces and bracelets. She thoughtfully selected gemstones that hold meaningful beliefs: sea sediment to protect against harmful things and to ease emotional stress and anxiety; rose quartz for its belief of embodying physical and emotional healing qualities; black obsidian for its belief of keeping negativity away. A small local business known as Vineyard Treasures, she often sold her creations at artisan shows on the Island.

Her friends and family will also recall her love of sewing and gnomes. Throughout the year, but especially during the winter holiday season, Carol created handmade gnomes and would gift them to loved ones. She handpicked fabric, then used patterns to sew the bodies, legs, arms and other features together. These creations were designed to sit on mantels, tables and counters. Identifiable by their oversized felt holiday hats and long beards, every gnome was customized for each person. Each creation took hours, and she often made dozens each holiday season.

Her life was full of sports. From relaxing on the weekends with a Patriots game on the TV to spending vacation time watching the MLB spring training in Clearwater, Fla, sports put her at ease. While she didn’t attend a Bruins hockey game, she always tuned into the games. She loved the Red Sox so much that she had the logo tattooed on her wrist. Through her love of photography, she began photographing the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks baseball games, sharing photographs with the players’ families. She did this every season until eventually becoming the team’s official photographer.

While her metastatic breast cancer affected her body for many years, Carol didn’t let this bring her down. She always found a way to feel happy and spread this happiness to those around her. Her care for her family and friends is proof that, despite the pain one might have, love provides us with strength. Love endures.

Carol is survived by her mother, Evelyn Christopher; daughter, Caitlyn Clark and her husband, Garrett Box; and her sisters Sharon Mello, Jackie Fullin and Sue Christopher.

A celebration of life is on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Oak Bluffs.