Carstairs died on December 18, 1993 in Florida, aged 93. She was cremated with her worn and cherished companion. Their ashes and those of Ruth Baldwin were finally deposited together on Long Island.

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Prankishly flamboyant, Carstairs' dress and self-presentation were masculine more often than not; according to Summerscale, she exercised to ward off womanliness.

Carstairs constructed a self-narrative of embellished half truths and contradictions. Her passion for women was prodigious, yet--measuring herself against male standards--she did not consider herself promiscuous.

She required her Whale Cay workers to adhere to moral values that she did not apply to herself or her friends. But she was notably generous, financially supporting Bardie Coleclough, her boat mechanic Joe Harris, and several former girlfriends and Bahamian employees long after their formal relationships had ended.

Larger than life even by today's standards, Joe Carstairs was one of a kind.

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