Peter Martin Carey was known for his colorful shirts, his caring smile, and the chocolates he regularly brought to work.

Carey had worked in WSU’s psychology department for about a month when he died on Aug. 23 due to a coronary blockage at his Pullman residence. He was 64.

“His energy and positivity will be very missed,” said assistant professor Brian Sharpless, the director of WSU’s Psychology Clinic. “We all would have benefited from getting the chance to know him better.”

Peter was born in Dublin, Ireland and moved to Toronto Canada at the age of 7. He came to the U.S. at the age of 18 and worked as an accountant for 30 years before changing his mind about what he wanted to do, said Mary Carey, his ex-wife.

For 18 years, Carey was the principal certified public accountant at Carey & Carey, now Carey & Raicevic, CPAs, Inc., in San Diego.

“He loved listening and talking to people,” Mary said. “Clients always used to tell him he should be a therapist.”

Carey graduated from San Diego State University in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in business science. He didn’t pursue psychology, however, until later in his life.

He received his master’s degree in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University in 2011, where he later went for his doctorate.

However, Carey had to defer his graduation from Palo Alto by one year due to cancer treatment after he was diagnosed with leukemia. He recovered completely from his cancer battle in April 2013, Mary said.

He came to Pullman in July to complete his post-doctoral fellowship at the clinic. The department selected him for his experience working with a wide range of patients, Sharpless said.

During one meeting, Carey suggested ways the WSU clinic could provide therapy to those who can’t typically afford it, Sharpless said.

“When I had to complete the difficult task of calling his patients and informing them of the bad news, I can confidently say that many were very affected by his passing,” Sharpless said.

One of Peter’s largest personal interests was the Buddhism way of life. He had a large collection of books on Buddhism, gone on retreats, did yoga, meditated, and studied Buddhism, Mary said.

 “He was interested in learning how to calm the mind and how to gain a good perspective on life,” Mary said. “The whole mind-body connection was important to him.”

While working on his master’s degree, Carey interned at the Goodwill Wellness Center in San Jose, Calif., where he provided one-on-one therapy to adults with no insurance and low economic status.

His supervisor there was psychologist Eval Gal-Oz, who now runs Eval Gal-Oz Clinical in Palo Alto.

“He found himself listening to clients talk about their problems at work,” Gal-Oz said, noting Carey had worked as an accountant until his passion for people led him to change careers. “He was very kind and joyful and made others smile. He would always bring chocolates for everybody.”

Since 2010 he worked at various mental health clinics to get the experience he needed to become a licensed psychologist.

“He was really excited to be in Pullman and the Northwest and work with our students,” said assistant professor Melanie Whetstine-Richel, the assistant director of the clinic.

Whetstine-Richel also noted Carey’s nature as a family man.

“One thing that stood out was his pride in his daughters,” Whetstine-Richel said.

Carey is survived by his four daughters, Catherine, Elizabeth, Anne, and Jane.

*this story has been updated for accuracy