Several years ago, my late wife Sally and I attended a Hymn-Sing concert with Chuck and Peggy Carter at one of the churches in West Houston.   Chuck introduced Sally and I to Jerry, and we instantly were amazed to feel that we had been accepted as part of the family!  This memory of our meeting Jerry is comforting for me, especially now, since Jerry and Sally are both together with Jesus, and probably chatting about the great time we all had at the "Hymn-Sing" many years ago.

Dad and dog — with Gerald Carter

The Summer of 1946

Summers can be magical times for kids and the summer of 1946 was exceptionally magical and adventurous for the Carter brothers. Jerry turned 14 that summer and his brother (Judd for family members… Chuck for everyone else) was 12. Their Dad had just sold his business (a feed store) and retired, and announced to the family that they would spend the summer exploring the US.

With their mother at the wheel and their Dad holding the map the family headed west, stopping to see all the sights along the way. They covered 36 states (of the 48) plus Mexico and Canada:, Lookout Mountain, Carlsbad Caverns, The Petrified Forest, The Painted Desert, The Grand Canyon, Hollywood, Rose Bowl Stadium, (Disney Land wasn’t there yet) Yosemite, Redwood Forest, Sequoia National Park, Zion National Park, Crater Lake, The Grand Coulee Dam, then to Wenatchee WA they “stopped in” to see the Greenwood cousins.

The Greenwoods were very hospitable and insisted that they stay awhile. The boys enjoyed Bing Cherries from the Greenwood Family orchard and feasted on elk and moose steaks from the Greenwood’s freezer. Three weeks later they headed home through The Grand Tetons, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, The Bad Lands, Wall Drug, The Black Hills, & Mt. Rushmore. After three and a half months on the road, the Great Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge welcomed them home. No one ever had such a summer!  

At home just a few days before he passed — with Jerry Carter

Lunch at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

When I think of my Uncle Jerry, I always remember, as a child, driving up on the Blue Ridge Parkway (in Asheville, N.C.) with Uncle Jerry at the wheel. There are lots of tunnels as you drive along the Parkway and the car would be full of cousins laughing and having fun. It is believed that if you make a wish and are able to hold your breath all the way through the tunnel your wish will come true! Uncle Jerry would love to tease us by slowing down to a stop just at the end of the tunnel and waiting until we all ran out of breath before continuing. I can still hear him laughing! I will miss him stopping by my pottery studio with Aunt Bertie to visit.