Ila Pearl Carter

Ila Pearl Orcutt Carter, loving mother to six children and cancer’s most determined foe for the past 35 years, passed away on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, at the home of her son and caretaker/daughter-in-law in Friendswood. She was 88.

Ila was born to George A. Orcutt and Leata Green Orcutt on Feb. 28, 1931, in Mason City, Iowa. After graduating from Mason City High School, she joined the Air Force, working as a personnel clerk at the Pentagon prior to getting married. She gave birth to six kids before the age of 30 and worked diligently to provide them with a happy home despite of the stresses of repeated family relocations and the burdens of being -- for extended periods -- a single mom. Ila received special support along the way from her sister, the late Betty Orcutt Olsen, and her husband, Daryl Olsen. Both were long-time residents of Freeway Manor in southeast Houston. With the Olsens as an anchor, Ila’s family found a degree of stability at southeast-side residences in South Houston, Genoa, Freeway Manor and Arlington Heights.

Ila loved to watch baseball and football. In 1962, she attended the third game ever played by the Houston Colt .45s and, in 1965, the second game ever played by the Astros in the Astrodome. She enjoyed reading and listening to music. Her favorite song, Moon River, captured her hopes for a brighter tomorrow.

In 1984, Ila was diagnosed with bone cancer. Subsequent surgeries severely reduced her mobility and prompted her to relocate -- with the assistance of her children -- from San Antonio to Houston and a new home in the South Belt area. Despite additional surgeries and the loss of her right leg 20 years ago, cancer never defeated her.

Among those preceding her in death were her parents, three sisters, two step-brothers and a beloved daughter, Nancy Elizabeth Carter. Ila died on what would have been Nancy’s 59th birthday.

She is survived by five sons and their spouses, all sources of support for her as she battled through nearly four decades of serious health issues. They are: Al Carter and his wife Mary, of Friendswood; David Carter and wife Susan, of North Little Rock, Ark.; Gary Carter and wife Lynn, of Bryan, Texas; Steven Carter and wife Sue, of Cypress, Texas; and James Carter and wife Judy, of Pensacola, Fla. She leaves behind 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She will be interred next to her daughter.