Carol Peters Duncan

DUNCAN

CAROL PETERS DUNCAN

Carol Peters Duncan died peacefully in the early morning of May 16, 2022, one month shy of her 90th birthday, in Bethesda, MD. She lived joyfully, sharing her love with family and friends, fully engaged in life to the end.



Carol was born June 16, 1932 in Buffalo, NY to Francis Charles Peters and Bertha Doern Peters, and lived her early years along with her older brother, Rex, in the Parkside neighborhood near grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. From the start, Carol always valued being part of a strong, loving family.



At age six Carol was given a pair of figure skates for Christmas, which she promptly tried out on the lake in Delaware Park, telling her parents "I can do it myself – don't help me!". Indeed she could: with ever-increasing dedication and skill, she devoted herself to figure skating, getting up early each morning to practice before going to school. Her interest and talent continued to grow after the family moved to northern Virginia when she was twelve, and a few years later to northwest Washington, DC across the street from the Washington Figure Skating Club. In addition to her regular training, she attended summer skating programs in Lake Placid, NY beginning in 1944.



After graduating from Georgetown Visitation high school in 1949, Carol enrolled at St. Lawrence University where she formed great friendships among her Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sisters. However, after two years she was "invited" to take a leave as her skating was interfering with her academics. By the early 1950s she was competing at the national level in Ice Dance with her partner Dan Ryan, winning Bronze and Silver medals in the 1951 U.S. and North American Championships, respectively. In 1952 the pair earned a Bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris and a Silver at the U.S. Championships; and in 1953 they again won Bronze at the World Championships in Davos, Switzerland, and Gold medals at both the U.S. and North American Championships. In 1952 the pair were invited to perform an exhibition of Ice Dance at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, which helped lead to its eventual inclusion as an official Olympic event.



From 1953, Carol was a figure skating instructor, teaching in the DC area and in summer programs in Toronto and Bracebridge, Ontario. At this time, she also enrolled at George Washington University, where she soon met her future husband John Duncan when she and a friend stopped by the university sailing club to inquire about classes. Carol and John married in 1956 and raised five children with the same energy and devotion she had shown in her skating career. She instilled an ethic of determination and positive thinking in her children, while also manifesting a deep love of nature and animals both wild and domesticated. Well into her 70s, she continued to enjoy a competitive spirit on the tennis and paddle tennis courts of Columbia Country Club, where she and John made lifelong friends with whom they enjoyed many travels as well as more relaxing times at their beloved Muskoka, Ontario lakeside cottage. Indeed, Carol made friends easily throughout her life, as evidenced by the new friends and admirers she had made among the caring staff of Suburban Hospital in the last week of her life.



Carol was pre-deceased by her brother Rex, her oldest child Peter, and her husband John; she is survived by her other children and their spouses – Peter's fiancée Cynthia Mitchell, David and Marie Duncan, Chris Duncan and Maria Fernandez, Suzanne and Craig Simmonds, Ted and Jo Rathbun-Duncan and by 19 grandchildren.



Friends will be received at PUMPHREY'S BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE FUNERAL HOME, 7557 Wisconsin Ave on Monday, May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Bartholomew's Church, 6900 River Rd. on Tuesday, May 24, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Montgomery County Humane Society or the Central Union Mission. Please view and sign the family guestbook at

www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com