John Austin Carey

John Austin Carey, 73, husband of Dudley Hogue and father of Robert Carey-Hogue, died peacefully in his sleep in Overland Park, KS, on December 27, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Loving, thoughtful, and committed to social improvement and equality, John was a leader and inspiration in the many communities he touched throughout his life. An openly gay man in a time and place where sexual identity was rarely discussed much less declared, he succeeded in making the people around him feel safe and comfortable, regardless of their beliefs or lifestyles. He was truly a gentle-man who afforded hospitality to all. John worked in the arts and social services throughout his career. He was also involved in many efforts for social good, including the churches he attended, the choral and theater groups he supported, and programs such as the AIDS service agencies and civil rights organizations in which he participated. Born November 3rd, 1944, in Memphis, TN, John attended Memphis Central High School, graduating in 1962. He received his bachelor of arts from The University of the South (Sewanee) in 1966 with a degree in psychology and French. He was awarded a master’s degree in theater from the University of Memphis in 1971. John’s early career included administrative roles at the Market House Theater in Paducah, KY; the Lyceum Theater in Arrow Rock, MO; Playhouse on the Square, Front Street Theater, and Circuit Playhouse in Memphis; and theaters in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia. He performed in and directed multiple productions at these and other venues. Moving to Kansas City in the early 1980s, he served as general manager of the Kansas City Ballet, executive director of the Kansas City chapter of Young Audiences, executive director of the Kansas Arts Commission, executive director of the Kansas City Women’s Chorus, and as a grant writer for Swope Parkway Health Center and Kansas City Hospice. He and Dudley moved in 1996 to New York, where John served as curriculum director for the American Management Association. John and Dudley adopted Robert Carey-Hogue in 1986, when Robert was 15 years old. In 1986, they were united as a family in a ceremony of commitment performed by then-Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver, who later, in the United States House of Representatives, led the Congressional Black Caucus. John and Dudley were legally joined in marriage in 2014. John was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel Davids Carey and Ethel Elizabeth Poindexter Carey; his brother, Patrick Poindexter Carey; and his son, Robert Carey-Hogue. In addition to Dudley, John is survived by his niece Rachel DeBusk (David) of Seattle; niece Elea Carey (Scott Ware) of San Francisco; grandnephews John Fisher Ware and Charles Patrick Ware of San Francisco; son-in-law, Rand Souden, of Palm Springs; sister-in-law Kay Carey of Memphis; and sister-in-law Arvelle Carey of Grants Pass, OR. Dudley asks that memorial donations be made in John’s name to First Lutheran Church, Kansas City Hospice, Kansas City Women’s Chorus, or Heartland Men’s Chorus.

John Austin Carey

November 3, 1944 - December 27, 2017