Richard Arthur Carter

Richard A. (Dick) Carter, age 89, died March 21, 2013 in Little Rock. He was born in El Dorado, Kansas on May 30, 1923. He graduated from El Dorado High School in 1941 He received All-State honors as a tackle his junior and senior years. He continued his football career at El Dorado Junior College (now Butler County Community College). He was co-captain of the football team and was selected an All Jayhawk Conference tackle. The attack on Pearl Harbor coincided with the end of his college football season. Dick and a good friend enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the 1st Marine Division. He was in combat in the battles of Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. After those battles, the Division went to Melbourne, Australia. The Division was posted to the Melbourne Cricket Stadium and slept on cots attached to the bleachers. The Marines' posting to the Melbourne Cricket Stadium was depicted in the recent HBO series, The Pacific. He enjoyed his time in Australia and made friends with several Australians, one of whom visited him years later in Kansas. Shortly before the Division was to ship out to the next island, Dick was transferred to the Naval Hospital in Oakland due to vision problems he developed on Guadalcanal. The transfer may have saved his life. The 1st Division went on to see action at Peleliu and Okinawa. After the Marines, he attended the University of Kansas where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He returned to the family grocery business on Central Avenue in El Dorado. He was awarded Young Man of the Year by the El Dorado Jaycees and was President of the El Dorado Country Club. After opening a Ford dealership in Kansas, he went to work for National Old Line Insurance Co. in 1970 and moved to Little Rock in 1974. He worked at National Old Line until his retirement. Upon moving to Arkansas, he and his wife became avid Razorback fans, attending Fayetteville and Little Rock games. He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and the Open Door Sunday School class. He was an avid woodworker since childhood. The joy of his life was his wife of 65 years, Wini, and his two sons. He is survived by his wife, Wini; his son, Dan Carter (Jean) of Little Rock; son, Thom Carter (Phyllis) of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and four grandchildren, Catie Carter Thacker, Christen Carter, Madeline Carter and Kosal Carter. The family would like to thank the caregivers at Presbyterian Village who took care of Dick for the last two years of his life. A memorial service will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church on Wednesday, March 27th, a 11 a.m., the Rev. Betsy Singleton officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials should be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 North Mississippi, Little Rock, Ark. 72207, or Presbyterian Village, 510 Brookside Drive, Little Rock, Ark. 72205. Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct., (501) 224-2200. Mr. Carter's online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.