Thomas Dean Carter passed away on November 3, 2022 in Sandy, Utah. He was born on April 2, 1923 to Thomas Newell and Ruth Hill Carter in Preston, Idaho, a small town near the Utah border, but spent his childhood in Pocatello, Idaho. He grew up during the years of the Great Depression when money, jobs and food were scarce, but his father was a master mechanic who could repair anything from Lincolns to locomotives, and was often able to find employment when others couldn’t. He was able to keep his family and home secure during those years, and he passed his strong work ethic on to Tom who, after graduating from Pocatello High, enrolled at Idaho State University to study chemical engineering.
The outbreak of World War II interrupted his studies, and he joined the Army at the age of 19, serving as a heavy equipment operator in an engineering battalion that participated in many of the historic battles of the campaign in the South Pacific islands. After the war, he returned to college in Pocatello but later transferred to UCLA to pursue his degree in meteorology – the study of weather. He worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau – now called the National Weather Service – his entire career and held positions of increasing responsibility for weather forecasting at assignments in the bureau’s Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, Boise, Sioux Falls and Salt Lake City offices.
During his assignment in Cleveland, he met and married Margaret (Peggy) Russell in 1952 in Berea, Ohio. They were later sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. Tom and Peggy were an inseparable couple, and he often functioned as chief logistics engineer for Mom’s terrific family dinners, holiday celebrations and church activities. They were amazing parents and took grand parenting to a whole new level. When Mom suddenly passed away in 2000, he filled his days with gardening, spending time with his children and grandchildren, enjoying the family cabin in Summit County, and serving in the church. He took up oil painting and unveiled a remarkable amount of talent for the art.
He is survived by sons Russell (Kathy) and Scott (Kay); grandchildren Tyler (Anikah), Kellie Whittaker (Chris), Caitlin Brewer (Sam) and Scotty; great grandchildren Tula, Mora, Magnus, Winn and Sonny; and Tempest Wicks (Corey) and their sons Jordan, Evan and Dylan. Preceded in death by his two younger sisters, Beverly and Dorothy. To his family, he was always a great source of sound advice, pleasant conversation and our own personalized weather forecasts. To his friends and neighbors, he was a soft-spoken, reserved man always ready to help with a project or a problem. He will be missed by all.
Friends are invited to a viewing from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Friday, November 11, at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 South Highland Drive.
