No description of Kyra’s life would be satisfactory or complete without an emphasis on her faith in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ was everything for Kyra. He shaped and molded every aspect of her life. He made her the mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend that she was to so many. She was truly the aroma of Christ, and the light of Christ shone brightly in her wherever she went.

When she was nine years old, Kyra surrendered her life to Christ, and the Lord graciously saved her from her sins, setting the trajectory for the rest of her life. The Good News of the Bible, the message that we are all offered the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, was the inspiration and motivation for all of Kyra’s endeavors regardless of the role she was fulfilling. Much more is said about this elsewhere, but it is this Good News that is at the core of The Kyra Karr Foundation, which defines its purpose and objective.

Kyra was born on November 27, 1984 in Virginia Beach, Virginia to Joseph and Karen Carp. Kyra is the oldest of three girls. Chelsey and Sydney are her younger sisters. In the summer of 1992, a job change brought her family to Cartersville, Georgia. Kyra attended middle school and high school in Cartersville and was a long time member of Tabernacle Baptist Church. After high school she moved to Athens, Georgia where she attended the University of Georgia. She graduated in 2006 with degrees in Italian and Comparative Literature, not yet knowing where she’d utilize such a unique set of expertise.

One evening in March of 2004 during her freshman year of college, while she was working at a coffee house, Reid, her husband-to-be, walked in to say hello. Reid had actually come to introduce her to his  friend, but those intentions changed quickly! That visit turned into a two year courtship that resulted in their marriage on December 14, 2006 in Cartersville. Reid and Kyra have been blessed with three beautiful girls, Nolyn (2009), Ellie (2010) and Livia (2013).

In August of 2007 Reid and Kyra moved to Louisville, Kentucky where Reid attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This began a journey that would eventually take them to Rome, Italy in 2009, revealing a larger purpose in her chosen major. Rome quickly became home for Reid and Kyra and is where they raised their three children together. Their new friends, colleagues, and the church Breccia di Roma became their extended family making  life and ministry abroad a joy and privilege. Their hearts were firmly planted in Rome.

The evening of August 13, 2015, on the eve of their return to Rome after a visit to Georgia, Kyra, Reid and two of their girls were traveling home when their vehicle was struck suddenly by a runaway tractor trailer, killing Kyra immediately upon impact. Reid, Ellie and Livia suffered only minor injuries. Kyra was 30 years old.

The Foundation in her name is dedicated to carrying on the work she loved so much. Please join us!