M. Gary Carter MD

Millard Gary Carter, M.D., 84, of Macon, Georgia, passed away on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after an extended illness. Visitation will be Thursday, May 28 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m at Snow’s Memorial Chapel, 1419 Bass Road, Macon, Georgia.

Born January 5, 1942, in Macon, Gary was the son of the late Joseph Millard Carter and Nell Williams. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Elizabeth ''Betsy'' Hales. Gary attended public schools in Macon and was a true scholar-athlete at Lanier Senior High School for Boys, where he lettered in football and track. He quit basketball and baseball to obtain a job so he could buy a car to take Betsy on dates. At Lanier, he was elected president of his senior class and Senior Superlative, and he was ROTC Lieutenant Colonel, a Beta Club member, and an honor graduate. He, along with Betsy, worked to fund his undergraduate education at Mercer University, from which he graduated with honors in 1964 and where he was elected to Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. He then began his medical training at the Medical College of Georgia and graduated in 1968 as vice president of his class. As with his undergraduate education, it was through his and Betsy’s joint effort that he was able to afford his medical degree.

After completing his internship at the Macon Hospital (now known as Atrium/Medical Center Navicent Health), Gary fulfilled his military obligation by serving two years in the U.S. Public Health Service in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Lt. Commander and then began his residency training in ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After completing this program, he returned to his hometown of Macon and began a four decade career in Middle Georgia.

Gary often remarked that he never worked a day in his life, because his work was his calling. He was a founding member of the entity that is now Piedmont Same Day Surgery and served as a board member and Chief of Staff at that facility. He also established ophthalmology as a specialty in Warner Robins and was the first to perform major eye surgery there. Gary was a member of the American Medical Association, the Bibb County Medical Society, and the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology and a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He was also a member of the Society for Excellence in Eyecare and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and several other medical organizations.

Gary had few traditional hobbies but instead spent his time and energy engaged in the many, myriad activities of his eight grandsons and his granddaughter, who lovingly referred to him as Papa. He decided at the age of forty that in lieu of a more traditional pastime like golf or tennis, he would read “all the important books.” He had a genuine curiosity about the world: his pile of books included everything from the Bible to Moby Dick to Darwin’s Theory of Relativity and The Great Gatsby. He told marvelous stories about his childhood in Macon and Eatonton. He could be seen taking his daily four mile constitutional near his home. He enjoyed an ice-cold martini with very little vermouth and poignant, powerful movies. He was dearly loved.

Gary was predeceased by his first wife, Betsy, and by his two youngest children from his second wife Janet, Athens Emory Carter and Aiden Eliza Carter. He is survived by his children, Amy

(Brad) Roberson, Austin (Karen) Carter, and Ashley (Marty) Miller. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Carter Uren, Davis Uren, Barrett Roberson, Austin Carter, Jr., Jack Carter, Henry Carter, Jude Emory Carter, and Caroline Chadwick, and by his beloved sister JoNell Horne. The family would like to express their deep appreciation to his caregivers Kimberly Patterson, Sandy Williams, Alexus Burnette, Tara Rozier, and Cynthia Chambliss, for their care and devotion.

Snow's Memorial Chapel, Bass Road, has charge of arrangements.