Daniel R. Carter

Dan Carter was born July 8, 1920 in Wilmington, MA, the son of Daniel R. and Dorothea Neilson Carter. As a child he lived next to his grandfather’s farm – The Elms – in an enclave of Danish relatives. Dan graduated Wilmington High in 1938 and the University of Massachusetts (then called Mass State) in 1942. Throughout high school and college he excelled in football, basketball and baseball. At UMass Dan joined both the Kappa Sigma fraternity and ROTC. His 1942 ROTC class was the last class trained in horse cavalry. Under the wartime Civil Aeronautics program at UMass Dan also became a pilot.

College graduation led immediately to military service where his training included the horse cavalry; Armored Force School at Fort Knox; Mohave desert training with both the 9th Armored Division and the 776th Tank Battalion; amphibious tank training in Ford Ord, CA; and the Army’s Parachute School and Infantry School. He was then assigned to the 541st Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp MacKall, NC. Starting in July, 1945, Dan was deployed to the Philippines, Okinawa, and finally Japan, where he was Executive Officer running the 11th Airborne Division Parachute School. Dan led the first stick of American paratroopers ever to jump in Japan. He then returned to civilian life until he was recalled for the Korean War. After being adjutant for the Wisconsin Military District Dan volunteered again for the Airborne where, along with a cadre from the 82nd Airborne, he reactivated the 508th Regimental Combat Team. Dan stayed with the 508th until his discharge two years later.

After WWII Dan married his beloved Evelyn Wells, who predeceased him in 2008. They built their first and only home in Marblehead which they shared for over 61 years. They were a devoted couple with Dan supporting their family as sales manager for A.H. Morse, one of New England’s largest food brokers. He later worked for Invenex Pharmaceuticals, earning Salesperson of the Year in 1975. Dan was a long standing Rotary member, a member of the vestry at St. Andrews Church, a director of the YMCA, an enthusiastic golfer, and an avid round-robin tennis player at the Corinthian Yacht Club.

Dan loved his family, neighbors, and friends – particularly Howard Woolaver, his friend since 4th grade, and Lou Bishop, his UMass classmate and Kappa Sigma fraternity brother. Dan enjoyed being outdoors, doing yard work, reading his newspapers, following Boston sports teams, and daily visits from his family and friends.

He is survived by his daughter Wendy Carter Taylor and her husband Dr. Keith Edward Taylor, his daughter Candice Carter Ford and her husband Preston R. Ford, and his grandsons Carter Barrett Ford and Joshua Wallace Ford.

A Memorial Funeral Service will be held on Thursday at 11 AM in the Church of St. Andrew, 135 Lafayette Street, Marblehead. Relatives and friends respectfully invited. Memorial Visitation will be held at the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home 142 Elm Street, Marblehead on Wednesday from 4-7PM. Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the V.N.A. Care Hospice, Development Office, 5 Federal Street, Danvers, MA 01923.