Walter Ford Carter died August 22, 2024, while recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. Walter was born May 13, 1940, in Huntington, West Virginia, to Dr. Elmer Norval Carter and Emma Ferne (Lowry) Carter. Walter and his big brother, Tom Eustace Carter, grew up World War II orphans after Dr. Carter was killed in action in the fight to liberate Normandy in 1944.
Walter enjoyed playing football, trombone, and back-alley tag, as well as serving as an altar boy. He was raised by his mother and her sister, Bess Lowry, supplemented by friends of his popular father.
He graduated from Huntington High School in 1958, and remembered with great fondness and appreciation his hometown of Huntington and the rich connections he maintained there. Walter was known for his humor, from practical jokes and pranks, to witty word-play, dry puns, groaners, and his toasts and testimonials.
At Swarthmore College, when his future wife Bonnie (Elizabeth Bullard Holden) arrived at his dorm for their first date, he arranged for his dorm-mates to bear him in on an armchair for a litter, wearing a laurel wreath and a bathrobe for a toga. Walter and Bonnie graduated and married in 1962. Walter majored in history at Swarthmore. He completed a master’s degree in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1963, and a master’s degree in economics at the University of Rochester in 1966. He held the position of instructor in economics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges from 1967 to 1971. Walter and Bonnie had two children and, in 1971, moved to Newton, where Walter began a career in economic forecasting, first at Charles River Associates and then for 25 years at Data Resources, Inc.
Walter was a lover of music and dedicated trombonist, playing in several ensembles including Brassworks, the Newton Symphony Orchestra, the Liberty Bones, Ill Windes and Foul Aires, Mystic Brass Ensemble, the Suburbanaires, and ad hoc groups of family and friends he conscripted. He and Bonnie enjoyed playing duets, and a musician friend composed a piece specifically for them (since the published repertoire for flute and trombone is pretty thin).
Walter enjoyed good company, food, and drink and will be missed as an organizer and generous host, including of a long-running annual carol sing. His community engagement included membership in the American World War II Orphans Network (AWON), the 29th Division Association, serving on the boards of Normandy Allies, the All Newton Music School, and the Newton Symphony Orchestra, and serving as president of the latter two. He was fascinated by history and remained a student until the end, taking and teaching discussion courses at Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for the last several years.
After Walter’s mother’s passing in 1995, he discovered a trove of his parents’ letters, his father’s wartime journal, and WWII veterans who remembered Norval. During the course of his research to piece together his father’s story, Walter found Frank Wawrynovic, the soldier whom Battalion Surgeon Capt. Carter was saving when he was killed by German fire. Walter wrote his account of uncovering the stories of his parents’ lives and his father’s death in the memoir “No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love,” published by Smithsonian Press in 2004. Sharing this story with civic, historical, and school groups, as well as students traveling with Normandy Allies, became a major occupation for many years.
Walter was predeceased by his brother, Tom, in 1972. Walter is survived by Bonnie Holden Carter, his beloved wife of 61 years; son Norman Carter and grandchildren Forrest and Fern Carter-Pearson of East Montpelier, Vermont; daughter Catherine Carter of San Francisco, California; cousin Mary Louise Douthat of Richmond, Virginia; nephews Tom Carter of Fairbanks, Alaska, Paul Carter of Yalaha, Florida, and Jim Carter of Great Falls, Montana; four great-nephews and one great-niece; and many other dear cousins and longtime friends.
A celebration of Walter’s life will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 13 at Duvall Chapel, Newbury Court, 80 Deaconess Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the All Newton Music School, 321 Chestnut Street, West Newton, MA 02465, or to the Dr. Norval Carter Memorial Scholarship at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine by sending a check payable to the Marshall University Foundation to Linda Holmes, Associate Dean, Alumni and Development, at 1600 Medical Center Drive, Huntington, WV 25701, or donating online at give.marshall.edu/project/31785/donate, selecting the Dr. Norval Carter Memorial Scholarship under the fund designation.
To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.concordfuneral.com.
