ORANGE PARK, Fla. - Mrs. Mary Kathryn Carter, wonderful friend, beloved Mom and respected teacher, of Orange Park, Fla. passed away on January 21, 2009. Mrs. Carter was born on June 8, 1941 in Beckley, W.Va., the daughter of the late Royal Frank and Verna Evelyn Baker. She graduated Class of 1959 from Woodrow Wilson High School, in Beckley. She then attended West Virginia University and was active in many university activities, including President of her Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and Sweetheart of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Mrs. Carter received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, along with minors in English and Social Studies, from West Virginia University in 1963. Mrs. Carter was a widely traveled and highly accomplished teacher of 27 years. Her teaching career began in Quitman, Ga. in 1963, where she taught for two years. From there, she traveled extensively, teaching in Shalimar, Florida, Bitburg, Germany, Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Green Cove Springs, Florida. Mrs. Carter then began her highly successful 17-year career as a fourth-grade teacher at Lakeside Elementary School in Orange Park, where she retired in 1996. During her time at Lakeside, Mrs. Carter positively enriched the lives of hundreds of children, as well as her fellow teaching staff. Mrs. Carter is survived by her beloved husband of 45 years, Colonel Samuel Carter of Orange Park, and her loving son, Chris of Atlanta, Ga. She is also survived by her sisters Libby Wood of Livermore, Calif. and June Jackson of Clendenin, W. Va. She was prececeased by her brother, Thomas Baker, of Aberdeen, Md. Service for Mrs. Carter will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, January 28, 2009, at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park, with visitation at 3 p.m. A gathering of friends will be held at the Orange Park Country Club following the services. The family has asked that interested friends make a donation to Sav-A-Child, of Jacksonville, in lieu of flowers or other gifts. Mrs. Mary Carter is deeply loved and will be dearly missed by everyone having the pleasure of making her acquaintance. Arrangements by Jacksonville Memory Gardens.
(Obituary from "The Register-Herald," Beckley, WV.)