Lee Carter [] Faces of San Miguel

Published April 1, 2025

by Natalie Taylor

Lee Carter was born in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, and received an MBA from the University of Virginia. He had a successful commercial real estate company in Texas, until coming to San Miguel de Allende on a lark in the 1980s. He fell in love with the local arts and crafts, and changed his life completely. He began buying art in México and bringing it back to sell in the US, dividing his time between the two countries. His back and forth trips across the border eventually made him realize that whenever he left San Miguel, he felt he was leaving home; and on the way back it felt like a return to where he belonged. In 2003 he moved here for good.

But something bothered him. In the 1980s, living in San Antonio, Texas, he witnessed friends and acquaintances dying from AIDS. Many suffered greatly in their final stages, without relief from the pain and discomfort. By the 1990s, hospice care had become available in the US, and Lee’s brother, dying of cancer, was afforded such care in the final stages. Lee saw the difference in these passings—his brother died a “good death”—at home, free of pain, and surrounded by family. It was a stark contrast to those friends whom he saw pass in the 1980s. In 2005, in San Miguel, he witnessed a friend dying in a painful way, without the support of end-of-life palliative care, because nothing of the sort was available in México. One year later Lee stayed with his father during the last part of his life. In this case, hospice care was involved, and once again he saw what “dying well” meant. His father passed without pain, aware of his surroundings, and sharing precious moments with loved ones. Lee said that many evening the gatherings around his father turned into “a party.”

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