Charles Roy Carter

Charles Roy Carter (Chuck), passed away on August 25, 2018, exactly one week after his 89th birthday, surrounded by his loving Nancy, three devoted daughters and family. Not yet ready to leave this earth and his wonderful life, he fought an eight-month battle with Follicular Lymphoma that had metastasized to his brain with his usual positive attitude and determination. Born August 18, 1929, in Covington, Kentucky to Ruby Mae Luckey and Roy Lee Carter, he graduated from Holmes High School in 1947 and went to work in the Chemical Section of Andrew Jergens Company, while also attending evening college at The University of Cincinnati. He was drafted for the Korean War, and served his country with honor as a cryptographer in the 24th Signal Co., Infantry Division of the US Army from January of 1951 to December of 1952, in both Korea and Japan. Upon returning from Korea, he married Irene McLemore on April 11, 1953, and together they had three daughters, Teresa (Teri) born in 1955, Linda in 1958 and Bonnie in 1959. He continued to work at Jergens full time while attending evening college on the GI Bill, and after a total of 11 years of evening school, in 1961 he received his PhB in Chemistry, minoring in Mathematics and Physics. He was the first person in his family to achieve a Bachelor’s degree. It is no wonder he was so proud of his college ring. Education was always very important to him and he made sure his daughters graduated with their Bachelor’s Degrees in four years! It was a job offer from The Pillsbury Company that brought him north to “God’s Country,” as he liked to refer to Minnesota. He moved his family of five to Edina in 1962, and while he may not have been born there, he embraced his new home of Minnesota and Edina, in particular. Even when it was negative 30 degrees, he would say, “ It was a beautiful, balmy day.” After the project Pillsbury had hired him for was discontinued after only one year, he landed a job in the Toni Division of The Gillette Company. Family lore is his mother never used another Pillsbury cake mix after that, switching her loyalties to Proctor & Gamble’s Duncan Hines. During his tenure at Gillette, he was one of two FDA liaisons responsible for testing procedures and protocols regarding Quality Control and Assurance. He was involved in many professional Quality Assurance associations including the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, as Chairman of the Minnesota Chapter and Regional Director, the American Society of Quality (ASQ) as a Fellow, Chairman and a Certified Quality Examiner (CQA) and was an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award which recognizes U.S. organizations in business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. His colleges at ASQ once gave him, The Portable Curmudgeon, because he was always trying to reign in their expenses. He taught people to do the right thing, both professionally and personally. His career also included Quality Assurance positions at Control Data, ITT Thermotech and private consulting. He had a gift for teaching higher education as an Instructor and Adjunct Professor for numerous colleges and universities around Minnesota and Wisconsin including Normandale Community College and University of Wisconsin-Stout. In July of 1967 while vacationing in Kentucky, his wife, Irene, was tragically killed in an automobile accident. His mother wanted him to move the girls, then 7, 9 and 12 back to Kentucky, but he loved his new home and he considered the move to Edina to be one of the best decisions of his life. He stayed and raised his daughters alone without a single relative for 750 miles, carpooling them to piano lessons at MacPhail, dance, gymnastics practice, guitar, cheerleading, church events and shopping at Southdale. He was even once the subject of an article written for Good Housekeeping Magazine. Charles did what he had to do with amazing ease and patience for which his daughters are forever grateful. What an excellent example he was to them. One of his quotes is, “You do what has to be done in your life, and you do it the best way you can.” He was Chapter Chairman and President of Parents Without Partners, which is where he met Darlene Grafelman and her children, Glenn and Leslie. They married in 1972 and although their marriage ended in divorce, he still stayed in contact with Darlene until her death in 2001, and loved seeing Leslie on the 4th of July and his birthdays. He had contacted a neighbor, Nancy Pennington, regarding the SAT Group (Singles all Together) at Colonial Church, and a friendship was renewed as Nancy had been a Girl Scout Leader with his first wife, Irene, and their friendship soon deepened. She introduced him to her Breakfast Club comprised of many female Docents from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. He was the envy of many men at breakfast on Saturday mornings, as he was the only man dining with these lovely ladies. Once a man asked him, “Fellow, can you spare a dame?” He and Nancy enjoyed dining out, dancing and entertaining their blended families and friends. Charles did the majority of the cooking for Nancy’s Bridge Club, Antiques Club and was legendary for his homemade ice cream making. It never struck him that cooking was exclusively a woman’s job. He was ahead of his time. Some of their most cherished memories were the 14 years they rented a houseboat in Sausalito, California, for the entire month of March, and they loved to invite their friends and family to join them. They had a wonderful love story, friendship and life together over the past 35 years. In 1999, after the urging of his granddaughter Katie, who was in the Edina High School Marching Band, he began marching in the annual Edina Fourth of July Parade. It was probably his favorite holiday and he became a fixture in the parade for the next 17 years. Proudly wearing his freshly polished, Army-issued leather boots and his heavy, “Ike style” wool Korean War uniform that still fit perfectly, he walked the entire parade route until the last few years when he rode in one of the military vehicles, always happily waiving to the crowd. He also loved attending the dinner hosted for the Veterans the evening before, by the City of Edina, with Nancy. Officiating Minnesota High School football games in the 70s and 80s was a highlight for him as well as watching his grandsons play Texas High School football. Another lifelong hobby was chess. He loved teaching his grandchildren how to play, and let’s be honest, took great delight in winning! He is preceded in death by parents, his 2 1/2 year-old-sister, Nancy Joy, his sister Joan Carter Moore and his first wife, Irene McLemore Carter. Surviving him are his long-time companion and love Nancy Pennington, his daughters Teri Ellis (James D.) of Edina, Linda Jensen (Alan C.) of Sandy, UT, Bonnie Mills (Mark A.) of Ridgefield, CT, Nancy’s children Pat Pennington (Jean Schurtz) of Novato, CA, Bob Pennington (Jackie) of Kansas City, KS, step-daughter Leslie Hargesheimer (Bob) of Lakeville, MN, grandchildren Laura Carter Ellis (Nathan Stanerson) of Edina, Katherine Ellis Fitzgerald (Eric) of Sudbury, MA, James D. Ellis, Jr., of Edina, Steve Pennington of Sacramento, CA, Anthony and Heather Pennington of Kansas City, KS, Andrea Jensen Matich (Brandon) of Salt Lake City, UT, Brandon Jensen (Emily) of Taylorsville, UT, Katie Jensen Camacho of Midland, TX, Kathy Jessop (Alex) of Midvale, UT, Andrew Carter Mills of Indianapolis, IN, Samuel Charles Mills of Dallas, TX, great-grandchildren Trey, Cooper and Grant Matich, Jonah and Elora Jensen, Charlotte and Piper Camacho, Bryson and Bailee Jessop, and his namesake, Charles Eden Fitzgerald, numerous nieces and nephews and his beloved Saturday Morning Breakfast Club that he had attended with Nancy over the course of 35 years, Arlene Baker, Coralyn Dahlstrom and Nancy Gethin. The wonderful Eden Avenue Perkin’s Staff that he so enjoyed bantering with will miss his signature way of ordering tea, “I’d like crushed Ceylon leaves, steeped at 212 degrees.” His fetching grin and either Korean Veteran’s baseball cap or one of his many colorful tam o’ shanters never failed to get a comment. He educated many people that it was not a ball on top of his tam o’ shanter, but a wee toorie. The family would like to thank Dr. Heather Gantzer for her impeccable care of Charles for the last 30 plus years, Dr. Kendra Kubiak for her guidance through these last eight months, numerous doctors, nurses, lab and radiology technicians and receptionists at Methodist Hospital, who helped him navigate this detour of his life’s journey. Our gratitude to the wonderful Transitional Care Staff of The Aurora, Edina, the astonishing nursing staff at N.C. Little Hospice and Annie Watson, Hospice Nurse extraordinaire from Methodist Hospice for their loving care of Chuck. A Celebration of Life will be Monday, October 15, at 11AM at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Rd., Edina, with visitation from 10-11AM. Luncheon immediately following and Internment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery at 2PM. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Cancer Research Institute, www.cancerresresearch.org, or N.C. Little Hospice, 7019 Lynmar Lane, Edina, MN 55435. The next time someone asks you, “What’s new?,” tell them, “Nu is the 13th letter of the Greek Alphabet.” He always got a kick out of that!

Tributes

Charles Roy Carter

August 25, 2018

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