Carol Sperry Moss, longtime community leader, died peacefully on April 24, 2021, at age 91 at her home in Malibu.
Born in Chicago on Dec. 22, 1929, to renowned engineer Albert Sperry and artist Vicci Sperry, and younger sister to Marjorie Sperry Braude, she graduated from the University of Chicago at age 18 and shortly after got her first job in post-World War II Amsterdam as a reporter for Radio International. After a year-and-a-half, she returned to the United States and married Conrad Jacobs Moss, who became a California Appellate Court judge and with whom she had four children.
Facing her young husband’s tragic death on the beach in Malibu, she persevered to become one of the first women to graduate from USC School of Law. She became a champion of civic causes and environmental protection, serving on the first board of the Santa Mountains Conservancy, helping to spearhead the No Nukes movement to stop nuclear proliferation and saving the Malibu Lagoon from development, among other acts of service.
Her home became a haven for countless visitors, from presidents and governors to people in need. Following a series of serious health setbacks, she found solace and strength in practicing meditation. For 30 years until the current pandemic, she hosted a weekly meditation group in her home that became a Southern California institution. At age 85, in response to the growing homeless epidemic, she started the Malibu Community Resources Assistance Team (CART), which helps connect homeless individuals to services and lessen the suffering for all impacted by homelessness. Her dedication to community service has been recognized with several awards from Los Angeles County and the community of Malibu, among others. She is predeceased by her daughter, Katherine Moss Smith, and survived by her children Brian Moss, John Moss and Diane Moss Bank; as well as her grandchildren Alexander Moss, Sonia Moss, and Kelvin Hawkins Bank. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to Malibu CART.