Mrs. Martha Sauvain Carter

Martha Sauvain “Mot” Carter (Mrs. Wilbur Lee Carter, Jr.), 90, passed away at Well Spring Retirement Community on November 18, 2013. .Her funeral service will be at 2:00 PM, Friday November 22, 2013 at First Presbyterian Church Chapel in Greensboro. The family will visit with friends immediately following the service in the Blair Hagan Room. The family will also visit with friends in the Private Dining Room at Well Spring from 4:00-5:30 PM.

Mot is survived by her daughter Judith Marie Carter and her wife Susan Sluyter of Asheville, North Carolina, daughter Carolyn Carter Yawars and her husband David Yawars of Lexington, Virginia, son W. Lee Carter III and his husband Greg Bradley of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, granddaughter Aspen Yawars McKenna and her husband Ian McKenna of Hood River, Oregon, grandson Theodore Carter Yawars and his wife Traci Yawars of Richmond, Virginia, and great-granddaughter Rowan Anne McKenna.

Born in Concord, North Carolina, Mrs. Carter’s parents were Edward Sauvain and Mattie Plowden Sauvain of Concord, North Carolina both of whom predeceased her. Preceding her in death on July 20, 2012 was her husband of 68 years, Wilbur Lee “Bo” Carter, Jr. Her brother, Edward Sauvain of Greenville, South Carolina, and her sister Elizabeth S. Smart of Davidson, North Carolina, and brother-in-law Charles Smart also predeceased her. Other family members include Peggy Sauvain, Ted and Kathy Sauvain, Mike and Janice Sauvain, Pete and Deb Sauvain, John and Martha Barlow, Ginger Shoe, Charles and Pam Smart, Jr., and Jim and Celia Smart.

Extended family members Virginia Blair Carter Hagan and Charles Tilden Hagan, Jr. predeceased her. Other family members include Anne Blair Hagan, Charles Tilden (Chip) Hagan III and US Senator Kay Hagan, Henry Guy Hagan and Sims Hagan, John Carter Hagan, and David Blair Hagan and Mary Grover Hagan.

Mot graduated from Concord High School in Concord, N.C. in 1939. She received her B.S. degree from Salem College in 1943.

She was a Member of the Board of Directors of Southern Life Insurance Company from 1963 until the company’s sale in 1986. She was past co-chair of the United Way Campaign of Greater Greensboro with her husband Bo Carter, and past co-chair of the United Arts Fund Campaign. Mot was a member of the Junior League of Greensboro, the Greensboro Cotillion, and the Greensboro Assembly. She was a member of the Kirkwood Garden Club and loved to spend many hours in her gardens. She was an avid tennis player. Mot loved to ride horses and taught many children to ride at summer riding camp at Southern Life Farm. Mot was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro. She was a past member of the Greensboro Country Club, the Roaring Gap Country Club, the Country Club of North Carolina, and the Figure Eight Island Yacht Club.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in honor of Mrs. Carter may be made to the Carter Family Fund or the Martha Sauvain Carter First Presbyterian Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, 330 South Greene Street, Greensboro, N.C. (336-379-9100).

On line condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.