William Oakley Carter

Bill was born in Selma, Alabama on April 19, 1934, son of the late William Oakley and Louise (Mickleboro) Carter.

Bill was raised in Marion, Alabama, attended Marion Institute then, with a Navel scholarship, enrolled in Vanderbilt University, where he was awarded a BS in Mech Engr, and then served in the US Navy for 3 years.

Upon graduation in 1956, he married Elizabeth “Sue” Fosdick Carter, a Yankee from Evanston, Ill. After his years in the Navy, Bill and Sue moved to Indiana in 1959 where he had a very successful 34-year career with the Delco Remy Division of General Motors in Anderson. The dedicated couple raised their family of three children. Bill was very involved in The First United Methodist Church, Madison County Literacy Coalition, and supported his children in their many activities (especially the local swim teams and judo).

Bill and Sue moved to Tucson, Arizona upon retirement where they lived life to the fullest. They enjoyed a very large circle of family and friends as it was important to him to not only make new friends but also nurture old ones.

Bill was actively involved in the Catalina United Methodist Church, The Sabino Canyon Naturalists, The Colonia Verde Home Owners association, book clubs, bridge clubs, playing golf and attending professional golf tournaments. The only time he was on the sidelines was at the live sporting events that they frequently attended. He was an avid fan of the University of Arizona men’s and women’s basketball teams, women’s softball team, and enjoyed U of A music offerings (especially when they featured Dixieland!) and the Tucson Symphony. Bill never let grass grow under his feet with lots of travel with friends to all parts of this world, visiting family and hosting visitors to his new home in the desert. He enjoyed photographing his travels, friends, family, nature, and events and creating loved photo albums to revisit the good times.

Bill is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Sue” Carter, sister Jane Michaels of Birmingham, AL; son William “Bill” Carter (Teri) of Ferndale, WA; daughter Elizabeth “Betsy” Carter (Jon Atkin) of Belmont, CA; son Douglas Carter (Kim) of Omaha, NE; grandchildren Lauren (Matt) Fruge, Troy (Marie) Carter, Elizabeth “Liz” and Michael Atkin; Carly, Corinne and Genevieve Carter; great grandchildren Oakleigh and Octave Fruge and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be scheduled at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Catalina United Methodist Church (https://CatalinaMethodist.org); The Anderson First United Methodist Church (https://Andersonfirst.org); or the Madison County Literacy Coalition (Anderson, Indiana) at www.madisoncountyliteracy.weebly.com