Business owner, buoyed by faith

Saturday, December 22, 2012

— At 65 years old, Walter Lee Carter ran his only marathon.

“His joke about it was, ‘I did two that day — my first and my last,’” said his daughter, Jill Cutting. “The next day, he had to have his gallbladder taken out.”

Carter died under hospice care at Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith from unknown causes, family members said. He was 95.

Carter was the youngest of eight children, the son of teachers in Logan County.

“They were independent thinkers” when it came to social, political and religious topics, said his son, Lee Carter. “He was conservative ... but they could all debate issues and present cases, so he was a very good speaker.”

In the early 1940s, Carter graduated from the Draughon School of Business in Little Rock and worked for various companies as a bookkeeper, including what was then the Tucker Duck and Rubber Co., an awning and sporting-goods manufacturer in Fort Smith. Carter became the owner in the mid-1960s until his retirement at the age of 61.

“His word was his bond, you could count on it,” his son said. “Even when he owned the company, if he wanted to put an awning on his house, he’d always go back and pay for it. He wanted the employees to see he’d never take advantage of any type of situation.”

Carter’s desire for doing what was right spread to the community when in the 1960s, he helped stop federal housing projects going up in downtown Fort Smith, which is now a historic district, Lee Carter said.

“He did not believe in large government,” his son said. “He was just glad to be a part of something that was successful and something he held so firmly in his beliefs.”

Those beliefs were always anchored to his Christian faith. In 1967, Carter was a founder of the South 46th Street Church of Christ in Fort Smith. For 20 years, he traveled when needed to preach in small Oklahoma and Arkansas communities.

His faith influenced every facet of his life, his son said. “It wasn’t like some people who live it out on Sunday,” he said. “He lived it every day.”

Up until health complications became an increased burden six months ago, Carter attended church services three times a week, even when the family was on vacation.

“He missed church about three times,” Lee Carter said. “One of the days was when I was born and he didn’t want to miss then. The doctor, who also attended the church, he said, ‘Now Walter, you need to go ahead and stay here, you’re having a son.’ That just shows what it meant to him.”

Carter stayed and missed the morning and night services, despite his plea to his wife. “He told Mother to hurry up because he wanted to go that night,” his son said.

Every Monday night, Carter bowled with a local league, bowling his final 600 series when he was 84 years old, Cutting said.

In his 60s, Carter ran about 15 miles a week, organized local “fun runs” and encouraged his three children to get involved.

“He thought running was the answer,” his daughter said. “He’d pay us a quarter for every mile we’d run.”

In his 80s, he turned to bicycling, riding about twice a week until 2010 when his attention turned solely to his wife, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The couple moved into an assisted-living facility.

“He would not leave my mother,” his son said. “He was her caregiver for the last three years. ... He sacrificed his life for her.”

An eloquent writer who enjoyed sharing a good joke or story, Carter was a man of wisdom, Lee Carter said.

“He was always there for you,” his son said, trying to hold back tears. “In any life situation, he always knew what to say.”

Arkansas, Pages 10 on 12/22/2012