Luther Carter

Luther J. Carter WASHINGTON, DC - Luther J. Carter, a devoted and beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend and a deeply ethical and unique man who loved and lived life to the fullest, passed away peacefully at age 92 on September 26, 2020, following a brief illness. Early in Carter's career he covered the Virginia school integration crisis of the late 1950s for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, with his first job as education reporter soon to become the "race beat." Later he served as the Virginian-Pilot's city hall reporter and after that as its Washington correspondent, supported initially by a Congressional Fellowship from the American Political Science Association. In 1965 Carter joined Science and during his some 15 years with this Washington-based journal he focused mainly on environmental writing. Twice, as his career unfolded, he undertook book projects in Washington with the support of Resources for the Future, which supports and initiates research on resource economics and social policy. The first of these books was The Florida Experience: Land and Water Policy in a Growth State, published in 1975; the second, Nuclear Imperatives and Public Trust: Dealing with Radioactive Waste, appeared in 1987. From time to time since the mid-1980s, Carter has published, either alone or as "first author," articles in Issues in Science and Technology, the policy journal of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Carter is a graduate of Duke University, class of '51, but his studies there as a history major were folded around service in the U.S. Marine Corps where he lucked into what was mostly a blissful stay of nearly two years in Hawaii. After Duke, Carter studied for a year at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. After that he was for about a year and a half in Morocco (then a French colony), with most of his time there spent working at an American Engineering firm that was engaged in the early Cold War effort to ring the Soviet Union with air bases. From this time abroad Carter gained a fair fluency in French but was never mistaken for a native. In 1979, the National Wildlife Federation chose Carter for its "science communication award" and in 1989 the American Association for the Advancement of Science elected him a Fellow of the AAAS for "distinction in science journalism." Other honors have included the special award by the Sierra Club's Florida chapter in 1976 for " excellence in environmental writing, " and the special Forum Award by the U.S. Council for Energy Awareness in 1988 for contributing to public understanding of nuclear waste disposal issues. Carter was admitted to the Cosmos Club in late 1980 and has been a member of that select Washington institution ever since. His self- assessment is, "Not a grand career, but solid." His review of the nuclear waste disposal issue reached beyond the problems in the United States to take in those in Europe and Japan as well. Besides the help of Resources for the Future, Carter has received support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, and the Science Center of Berlin, along with that of a few other institutions. Carter was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 21, 1927. He and his wife, Marsha Knott Carter, also of Charlotte, were married April 27, 1957, sixty three years ago, and they have been long time members of The National United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Among those closest to him include two daughters, Amy Carter of Rockville, Maryland, and Marsha Carter Davis and son-in-law Bill Davis of Helena, Montana; a grandson William Davis and a granddaughter Marissa Davis Valone (husband Sam ); a great granddaughter Ava Valone all Montanans; beloved nephews, nieces, cousins, and dear friends. The family would like to express our deepest appreciation to the exceptional care team at Sibley Memorial Hospital, to the compassionate health aids of Potomac Home Support, to his great-nephew Dr. Rob Drinkwater for his loving care and great conversations with Luther during the last few years, to his nieces Dr. Carter Heyward, Ann Heyward, great-niece Isabel Drinkwater, nephew Robert C. Heyward, cousin David Bland and his wife Marianne Roos, brother-in-law Bob Knight, nephew and niece John Knight and Ruth Gammon, and dear friend Dr. Carole Horn for their tremendous support and daily attentions during Luther's illness. An intimate celebration of Luther's life will be planned for a future date when it's safer for family and friends to gather. In honor of Luther's passion for justice and his tireless efforts to protect our natural world, please make any memorial donations to the ACLU or to an environmental group of your choosing.