James Richard Carter

He is survived by his wife, Diane, of 61 years, two daughters, Valerie Leitch (Greg), Sharon Ritter (Jim), four grandchildren, Brandon Corrier (Kelsey), Heather Corrier, Jennifer Ritter, Carly Ritter, one great grandchild, Henry Corrier, two brothers, Doug Carter (Sandi) and Dennis “Nick” Carter (Sherry), and one niece and two nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Morgan “Nick” Carter and Maurine Carter.

Jim was born on September 22, 1936 in Sault St. Marie, Michigan. Growing up he lived in Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana. Jim earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University, a Masters degree from the University of Maryland and a PhD from the University of Georgia. He worked for the US Geological Survey in Washington, DC. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Jim was a Geography-Geology professor for 18 years. In 1990, Jim and Diane moved to Bloomington, Illinois where they lived for 27 years. Jim retired as Professor Emeritus of Geography-Geology at Illinois State University, Normal, IL, where he taught for 15 years.

In 2017, Jim and Diane moved to Midlothian, Virginia to be closer to their daughter, Sharon and her family. Jim was a member of Rotary for over 30 years and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church for over 50 years. During his life he supported many environmental causes and various charities. Jim and his wife traveled extensively throughout the world, both for pleasure and for numerous professional meetings. He had many published papers related to his career and interests. His many passions included Cartography, Geographic Information Systems, the weather, and global warming. Jim became an expert on the formation of ice on plants in nature, also known as Ice Flowers and created the website www.jrcarter.net, which features his extensive knowledge on the subject. He was physically fit, exercising daily and kept mentally fit by doing puzzles, playing his cornet and always learning something new.

Jim was greatly admired and loved by his many friends and family and will be deeply missed.

A celebration of life will be held at 2pm on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, 1000 Blanton Ave, Richmond, VA 23221.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Huguenot Trail Rotary Foundation, PO Box 468, Midlothian, VA 23113 or First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, 1000 Blanton Ave., Richmond, VA 23221.