He was known to his friends and family as “Ernie”. He was preceded in death by his mother, Pearl Levina (Purvis) Carter and his father, Fred Carter. He had ten siblings; seven of whom preceded him in death. They are Leonard, Charles, David, Steve, Mary Magdeline, Mertile Lee, and Anna Laura Carter. Surviving siblings are Lila Summey, Hubert Carter, and Betty Wood. Ernie has three children; Ernest Edward Carter Jr., Brian Lee Carter, and Renita Davidson. He also has four stepchildren, which were a very important part of his life. They are Bertha Davis Darby, Wayne Cook and Wilma Green (all deceased) and Butch Burton. He is “Grandpa” to Dennis Mount, Patty Long, Donald Burton, Randy Burton, Jimmy Burton, Becky Burton, Jeff Cook, Monica Cook, Timothy Green, Harvey Green Jr., Susan Leichter and Ida “Rene” Davis (deceased). He also has a multitude of wonderful great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Ernie served actively in the Navy from 1954-1956 and was a reservist from 1956-1962. He then went on to earn his Barber’s license and operate Ernie’s Barber Shop where his kids and grandkids enjoyed raiding the pop machine until he retired. He was married to Ida “Irene” Carter for 35 years; he became a widow in 2000 when Irene died. After many years spent alone, he met and married his last love, Sally Carter, on June 12, 2016. They remained married until his death.
Ernie was a Christian and loved going to church. Until the last few years, he was an active member at Glenwood Baptist Temple in North Kansas City. His other pastimes included taking walks, visiting with his family, and listening to gospel music. He was an avid sports fan and he liked watching sports, western shows, and movies on TV. He discovered Bocce ball in 2016 and enjoyed participating in it whenever possible. His favorite restaurant was Denny’s where he never forgot to pray before digging into a meal that had “too much food” or was “too hot”.
Anyone that visited Ernie was greeted with a big smile and an even bigger hug. Those that got to experience his hugs were the lucky ones. He was a good, loving man that didn’t hesitate to give you an honest opinion. Family was very important to him. He didn’t care if you were born into his family or married into it; everyone was loved the same. God and his family were the most important things in his life. Every goodbye with Ernie ended the same way, this one would be no different. To all of those that were blessed with knowing and loving Ernie, in his words, “God loves you and so do I”.
