John Carter, also known as Uncle Don and Gogo Don, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2019 with his sisters Bette Ann and Sandy (June) at his side. John was born on December 8, 1950 to the late Gertrude (Ritch) Carter Kelly and Pershing Carter in Queens, NY. The family moved to Verplanck, NY when John was less than a year old.
As anybody who ever had the pleasure of meeting him would know, he didn’t just march to the beat of his own drum, he had a full marching band complete with majorettes. Quirky would be a good way of describing him. He rarely met a camera he didn’t ham for and was well known for his Donald Duck impression. A voracious appetite for both food and knowledge, he could spend hours eating a single meal because he’d be so busy detailing the latest book he’d read or movie he’d watched. If you bumped into him the past few years, you certainly would have taken note of his eight-inch beard and man-bun.
He never left home without a flashlight or six in his pockets and loved to show you how brightly each shone. He had an equally impressive collection of magnets at home. Various percussion instruments lined his shelves. He could make small talk about anything - literally anything - with every person he met. And he did. People waiting in line at the store, people walking on the sidewalk, people sitting in traffic. People in restaurants, people in waiting rooms, and eventually people working and volunteering in emergency rooms, hospitals, and the nursing home.
As pomp and circumstance and general fussiness was not his style, few people knew he was ill. John is survived by his beloved sisters, Bette Thresher and her husband Jeffrey and Sandy Weiglein; cherished nieces and nephews, Gretchen Weiglein, Will Weiglein and his partner Jill Moore, John Weiglein and his partner Elizabeth Koch. He is also survived by his cherished great niece and nephew, Emma Weiglein and Christian Smith, and his stepmother Ellen Carter. He was predeceased by his brother-in-law Richard Weiglein and stepfather Bill Kelly.
Memorial Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 4th from 3-5 pm at the EDWARD F. CARTER FUNERAL HOME, 170 Kings Ferry Rd., Montrose, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name can be made to the American Cancer Society www.cancer.org
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