John Albert Carman
May 24, 1955-March 8, 2025
Redwood City, California
He was a high school wrestler. She was a college track athlete. On an ordinary day in 1994, they met at their local gym and began an extraordinary journey that would last more than 30 years. That excellent adventure came to its sad end on March 8 when John Albert Carman, taking a break from Julie (Jules) Anna Carman’s bedside in hospice care, died suddenly from a heart attack. Jules succumbed to her battle with cancer and joined her love six days later on March 14, 2025.
John was adopted as an infant and grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula. He was a standout athlete, playing football and wrestling for Sequoia High School where he graduated in 1974. Later, he met his Cherokee birth mother and embraced his Native American heritage, spending time in New Mexico and becoming a father figure to a young Navajo high school wrestler there, Carlton Pine.
Jules was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. A talented runner, she earned a track and field scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a degree in Business and Communication in 1986. The perseverance, mental strength, and discipline she honed as a competitive runner fueled her success in fast-paced, ever-evolving professional environments.
Their serendipitous meeting in 1994 led to marriage and then, in 2004, to Kazakhstan, where they planned to adopt an infant. Upon arrival, the orphanage introduced John and Jules to inseparable crib mates. They quickly and happily determined to be a family of four, returning to Redwood City with Grazyna and Keoni.
These two now-thriving college students are John’s and Jules’ greatest legacy, stacked atop lifetime achievements best measured by relationships with colleagues, friends, and family. John navigated his 40-year career in Bay Area real estate through the region’s most prestigious firms, ultimately managing 300 agents and staff in Compass offices in Menlo Park, Carmel, and Capitola. No tribute to John by his colleagues was complete without mention of his kindness, generosity, and good humor.
As a woman who entered the tech industry early in its rise, Jules commanded respect with a quiet force, instilling confidence in those around her. Though she called herself an introvert, she formed instant bonds with partners and colleagues, her presence in meetings radiating strength that others felt and shared. Her legacy endures as a mentor, advisor, confidante, and steadfast champion, inspiring all who were lucky to know her.
John and Jules created “family” wherever they went, and they are sorely missed by friends and colleagues too numerous to count. Most of all, they will be remembered by their children, Grazyna and Keoni, and by Carlton (Andie) Pine and his son Abram Pine; siblings Nancy (Anthony) Doyle, Richard Giacomini, David Giacomini, Michael (Rosanne) Giacomini, and Mark (Cindy) Giacomini; nieces Maggie (Kyle) McReath and Casie (Ben) Ewerdt; nephews Anthony Doyle II, Frank Giacomini, Matthew Giacomini, and Justin Giacomini; and grand nieces and nephews including Cole, Mack, Bryce, Clayton and Brooklynn.
A celebration of these two remarkable lives will be held at 1 pm on June 11, 2025 at Sacred Heart School, 150 Valparaiso Avenue in Atherton, CA.
