Lester Grant Carter, Jr.

Lester G. Carter Jr., age 90, died February 2, 2016 at his new home, the Carolina Inn, surrounded by his family. 
   
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marguerite Winfree Carter, daughter Beverly and husband Dr. Philip Spears, son Rev. L. Grant Carter, III and wife Mary, and son Vann B. Carter and wife Janet. He is also survived by grandchildren Britt Carter and wife Genna and their children Grayson, Gavin and Savannah; Laura Cale and husband Charles and their children Addison, Amelia and Annabelle; Beth Seay and husband Patrick and their children Parker, Vivian, Dalton and Naomi; Carter Spears; Winfree Brisley and husband Will and their children Powell and Yates.
   
Mr. Carter, son of the late Lester G. Carter, Sr. and Eunice Allen Carter, grew up in the Vander community. He graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1942, and matriculated to Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. after receiving an athletic scholarship, playing both football and baseball. A member of Blue Key Fraternity and Pi Kappa Alpha, he graduated in the spring of 1945. In the fall, he began the study of law at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. In 1946, he was elected president of the University of North Carolina Young Democratic Party. His legal studies were interrupted by his service in the U.S. Army, 1946-47, which included being stationed in Tokyo, Japan. 
   
After his honorable discharge from the military, Mr. Carter completed his law school education, passed the bar and was sworn in September 26, 1949. His practice of law included being attorney for Cumberland County Schools, the County of Cumberland, as well as the towns of Spring Lake and Wade, Judge of Cumberland County Recorders Court, President of the Cumberland County Bar Association, and District Solicitor for Superior Court for Cumberland and Hoke Counties. He represented Cumberland County in the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1969-70. His fifty-four years of practicing law was recognized by his induction into the North Carolina Bar Association Hall of Fame.
   
Mr. Carter was active in community civic organizations, including the Jaycees, the Masons, the Kiwanis Club, and the Knights of Pythias, serving as Grand Chancellor for North Carolina in 1958. In 2014, Mr. Carter was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
   
Mr. Carter was very active in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Vander, serving as Sunday School Superintendent, Trustee, and Deacon for many years. In 2000, he was awarded "Baptist Man of the Year" at the church, and in 2002 he was recognized for fifty years of service to the church's Sunday School. He was born again in Christ on September 15, 1971, and was delivered from his addiction to alcohol and became active in the Samaritan Goodwill Center, serving on the board of directors. He also served on the board of directors of the Charles Stevens Homeless Center of the New South River Baptist Association and represented the Association on the Board of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, 1973-77. He chartered the Mack Roberts Evangelistic Association and was active in sharing his Christian testimony in area churches and in his daily interactions with others. His desire was to guide others to new life in Christ and to see those suffering from addiction find healing.

Mr. Carter was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. His passions included his Lord, his family, community service, and the law, as well as fishing, hunting, and UNC sports. He was known to say he never let his practice of the law interfere with his hunting and fishing.

The family will receive friends in Rogers and Breece Funeral Home on Friday, February 5, 2016 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. A prayer service for members of the Cumberland County Bar Association, family and friends, with Judge Jim Ammons presiding, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. Funeral services will be held in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Vander at 11:00 am Saturday, February 6, 2016. Burial will follow at Lafayette Memorial Park. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. 

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