Margaret was born in Americus, Georgia on September 1, 1927, to William Urwin and Laura Belle Carter Barefield. She was the youngest of seven children and was predeceased in death by her parents and her siblings: brothers James, William, Julius, and Robert Barefield and sisters Florence Baird and Sarah McGowan.
Margaret was one of a handful of women attending North Carolina State College in the 1940s. There, she met the love of her life, Johnnie Richardson Carter, Jr. They married on November 27, 1948, and Margaret graduated with a degree in chemistry in 1950. Margaret and Johnnie had a wonderful life together until Johnnie passed away in 1985.
Margaret spent a full career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, starting as a junior chemist and ending her career 47 years later overseeing the food lab. Margaret and Johnnie were active members of Westover United Methodist Church, and throughout her lifetime, she held almost every volunteer position at the church.
Margaret's two children, Laura Carter Brooks (Mark) and Johnnie Richardson Carter III (Vicki), blessed her with four grandchildren whom she adored: Mary-Margaret Brooks Rice (Ben), Johnnie Richardson Carter IV, James Martin Carter, and Callie Barefield Carter. They will all miss her dearly and have many fond memories of beach trips with her.
A memorial service to honor Margaret's life will be held on Saturday, December 14, at 1:00 pm at Westover United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Visitation with the family will follow the service. A private interment will take place at a later date.
In place of flowers, please feel free to donate to the Westover United Methodist Church, Memorial Fund, 300 Powell Drive Raleigh, NC 27606.
Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, is serving the Carter family.
