William A. Carter

William A. Carter William A. Carter, 79 of Riggins passed away Nov. 29, 2008 at Syringa General Hospital in Grangeville. William Andrew Carter was born in Tunkhannock, Pa. on March 1, 1929 to John S. Carter and Elizabeth Hill Carter. He lived there until in high school, then worked and graduated from high school in Bound Brook, New Jersey. After graduation, he enlisted in the Marines and served at the Naval Ordinance Depot in Pocatello, Idaho. While in Pocatello he married Leah Dickerson. The marriage later ended in divorce. At the end of his Marine Corps enlistment, he returned to New Jersey to attend Rutgers University. When the Korean War began, he enlisted in the Air Force, then applied for and was accepted into Army Officer Candidate School. He completed OCS and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. After training at various military schools near the end of the Korean War, he was assigned to duty in Korea near the Demilitarized Zone as a Tank Platoon Leader. When his military obligations ended he returned to Pocatello and graduated with honors from what was then Idaho State College and began studies for a Masters degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. That endeavor was interrupted when his father died, which left him responsible for some of his younger siblings. For several years he worked for the Citizens Research Council in Detroit, which studies and makes recommendations for efficiency in governmental units for the State of Michigan. In 1967 he accepted the position of Director of Management Services for the State of Idaho and moved to Boise. In that position he was in charge of purchasing and coordinating the use of all computers and other electronic equipment for the State of Idaho. In 1969 he returned to work at the Research Council in Michigan and was married to Mary Evans Vaughn in Detroit that same year. He worked there until 1977. During that time his tasks included working with the Budget Office of the Detroit Public School System. In 1977 he and his wife purchased a small business near Riggins, Idaho and have lived there since then. He retired from full time work at their business in 1991 and devoted his time to community service. He was a Mason, a Shriner and served for many years as Secretary of his Shrine Unit. He was an active member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Grangeville, Idaho and for several years served as the Senior Warden of the Bishop's Committee there. For many years he volunteered nearly full time job hours to the Salmon River Rural Fire Department performing administrative work as Chairman of the Board and keeping financial records. He also served on the Board of' Trustees for Joint School District 241. He enjoyed computer programming and wrote software which is still used by his business, the fire department and the church. He was a lifelong avid reader and student of history, politics, biographies and finance. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, and five sisters. He is survived by his wife, Mary; four children and three stepchildren: Teresa Seng of Grandview, Idaho; Kathleen Bruni of Boise, Idaho; Patricia Travis of Simi Valley, Calif.; John Carter of Nampa, Idaho; Cynthia (Cindy) Sangster of Grangeville, Idaho; James Vaughn of Riggins, Idaho and Daniel Vaughn of Madison Georgia. In addition he is survived by 21 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. He is also survived by three sisters and one brother; Electa Rundell of Tunkhannock, Pa.; Elaine Bateman of Roy, Utah; Mary McDowall of LaVernia, Texas and Stanley Carter of Belleville, Mich. A graveside service will be held Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Mountain Time) at the Riggins Cemetery followed by a memorial service at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Grangeville at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time). Services are under the direction of the Blackmer Funeral Home, Grangeville. Family suggests memorial contributions may be made to either the Calam Shriners Temple or to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, c/o Blackmer Funeral Home, Grangeville. Send condolences to the family to: Blackmerfuneralhome.com