CARTER, ROBERT GRAY
Surnames: CARTER, LANDRUM, CHAFFIN, DENNIS, MASON, BAGWELL, LANG.
THE MARLIN DEMOCRAT
Marlin, Falls County, Texas
Wednesday, August 27, 1997
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ROBERT GRAY CARTER
Oct. 31, 1911 - Aug. 20, 1997
Robert
Gray Carter, a lifelong resident of Marlin died at his on Wednesday, August 20,
1997. Mr. Carter was born October 31, 1911, the son of George Hardeman
Carter and Olivia Shaw Caarter (sic), who together with his brothers,
George Hardeman Carter, Jr. and Albert Shaw Carter preceded him in death.
Both of Mr. Carter's parents were from pioneer Texas families. His
mother's family arrived in Texas in 1832 and his father's family in 1851.
After completing Marlin High School in
1928, Mr. Carter attended Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia
where he was captain of the V.M.I. Rifle Team. In April 1997, Mr. Carter
was one of eight members of the Class of 1932 who returned to V.M.I. for their
65th reunion. After graduating from V.M.I., he attended the University of
Texas where he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.
Mr. Carter earned his law degree from
Baylor Law School in 1937, and upon graduation, returned to Marlin where he
joined his father in law practice. In 1997, he was honored as a sixty-year
member of the State Bar of Texas. He was also owner of the Falls County
Abstract Company. Founded in 1875, the Falls County Abstract company is
the oldest operating business in Marlin.
On December 7, 1940, Robert Carter
married Katherine Landrum, the daughter of Falls County Judge and Mrs. John
Benjamin Landrum. On their first wedding anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Carter
heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Mr. Carter joined the army and
served his country as an Intelligence Officer in the Pacific Theater. He
achieved the rank of First Lieutenant and was awarded two Bronze Service Stars.
He served his community for many years on
the Marlin School Board. He was also a director of the First State Bank of
Marlin, the Burkhead Manufacturing Company of Houston and Southwestern Electric
Service Company in Dallas. At his death, he held the distinction of being
the director with the longest service at Southwestern Electric Service Company.
Mr. Carter had several life-long hobbies
and interests. He was a championship chess player who in the early
seventies defeated the United States Grand Master in the Central Texas Chess
Championship. He was an avid photographer who enjoyed developing and printing
his pictures. His family and friends are left with remembrances of past
events from the black and white pictures given to them by Mr. Carter. He was an
expert shot both with pistol and with bow and arrow. In 1992, he was
awarded a lifetime membership in the Marlin Rifle and Pistol Club for his
support and contribution.
Two of his favorite seasons of the year
were the fall when he and his sons-in-law, grandchildren and friends spent each
weekend at his farm in East Texas where they enjoyed bow hunting, and the early
summer when he looked forward to his annual trip to Galveston, a tradition which
he enjoyed all of his life.
Mr. Carter is survived by his wife of
fifty-seven years, and their four daughters, Mary Chaffin of Dallas, Ann Dennis
of San Antonio, Nancy Mason of Dallas and Jane Bagwell of Santa Fe, New Mexico;
ten grandchildren who affectionally call him "Bob" and a sister Mrs. J. T. Lang
of Pidcoke.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
First Presbyterian Church or the Marlin Public Library.
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Submitted, typed as spelled
and written: Lena Stone Criswell
