Richard Stewart Carter

May 10th, 1944, I Richard Stewart Carter came into this world kicking and screaming. On November 26th, 2025, I departed this big blue planet, a very contented and proud individual. My father D. Stewart Carter and mother Viginia B Carter raised me in the Ballard Seattle area where we (the neighborhood kids) played. We played baseball and football in the middle of the street and fished off Ray’s boathouse.

I graduated (just barely) Ballard High School where I met a number of lifelong friends. I escaped Seattle at age seventeen and enlisted in the Army Reserves where I trained as a cook and baker. From 1963-1965 I attended Olympic Junior College. In 1971 I graduated from Central Washington University with a minor in botany and major in geology. From 1960 until 1970 I worked for U.S Geological Survey in Alaska. The first summer working in Alaska I encountered a black bear (that’s a story in itself).

June 10th, 1972, I married Phyllis Needles, the girl across the street in my old neighborhood. In 1985 we built our home in Onalaska on our 23-acre tree farm. Phyllis taught school there (Mrs. Carter).

I retired as a hydrologist after 28 years working for the state of Washington. In 1975 I joined the Salkum Fire Department where I volunteered as a fireman, lieutenant, captain, and retired as assistant chief in 2001...one of the most rewarding experiences of my life!

I was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association since 1971. I enjoyed hunting and loved to travel. Sharing 49 years with my beloved wife. Pigeon Springs Road was my favorite place to be. IT WAS A GREAT RIDE!