DONALD LESLIE CARTER

Donald Leslie Carter, 82, of Fallon, Nevada, passed away on Sept. 25, 2010. Don was born May 12, 1928, in Elko, Nevada, to John Leslie Carter and Marguerite Bellinger Carter. Don's early years were spent on the family ranches in Lee, Nevada, until the family moved into Elko. Don graduated from Elko High School and attended the University of Nevada, Reno.

He earned an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he graduated with the Class of 1953. The day after graduation he married Mary Getto of Fallon, in Cornwall-on-the Hudson, New York. Don was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant, and later went to Navigation School in Houston, Texas and also attended Texas A&M to become a weather officer. During his 20-year military career, Don was an electronics instructor, weather officer, missiles officer, and a navigator, flying through typhoons in Southeast Asia, spent 3 years supporting the Vietnam War, including spending a year in Vietnam in 1970, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1973.

Don then began a second career as a real estate broker and and real estate appraiser. He was part-owner of Independence Realty in Fallon. He was a member of the Churchill County Planning Commission, past-president of the Fallon Board of Realtors, past-president of the Fallon Rotary Club, and past-president of the Fallon Navy League. He was a member of St. Patrick's Church. Don enjoyed skiing, hunting, bicycling, and spending time at the family's vacation home in Graeagle, California.

Don is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Getto Carter; daughters, Andrea (Dave) Vest of Fallon; Deidre (Jim) Pace of Sparks, and Kendra (Christopher) Erwin of San Rafael, California; grandchildren, Lindsay, Kristen, and Brett Carey and Alex Vest of Fallon; Claire, Robert, and Justine Pace of Sparks; brother, Jack (Andra) Carter of Reno; brother-in-law, Virgil (Pat) Getto of Fallon; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. He will be missed by his beloved dogs, Zoe and Shy.

Donations may be made in Don's memory to Churchill Arts Council, P.O. Box 2204, Fallon, NV 89407; XL Hospice, 139 Keddie St., Fallon, NV 89406; or St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 850 W. Fourth St., Fallon, NV 89406.

A rosary will be recited on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, at 6 p.m. at The Gardens Chapel. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, at 11 a.m. Immediately following the Mass, a reception will be held at Churchill Art Center on E. Park Street in Fallon. Inurnment will be in Elko at a later date.

Arrangements are under the direction of The Gardens Funeral Home, 2949 Austin Highway, Fallon, NV 89406, (775) 423-8928.