Adalina E. Carter MD

Dr. Adalina E. Carter, MD, a devoted servant of God, healer, and mother to many, passed away peacefully on May 20, 2025, at the age of 74. She was a woman whose life radiated purpose, faith, and compassion.

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Adalina grew up in a lively and loving family with three sisters and two brothers. Her deep-rooted love for learning and a calling to help others led her across the Atlantic to Spain, where she earned her medical degree from the University of Zaragoza. What began as a passion for science blossomed into a lifelong mission of service.

Her distinguished medical career carried her across Puerto Rico, Maryland, California, Pennsylvania, and Washington State. For over 30 years, our beloved mother, Dr. Carter served faithfully in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, offering care to those who had sacrificed so much for their country. Patients, colleagues, and communities alike knew her not only for her clinical excellence but for her unwavering compassion and gentle strength.

Though medicine was her profession, her true vocation was love — the kind of love modeled by Jesus Christ. Dr. Carter’s ministry touched countless lives, not with grand gestures, but with quiet prayers, open arms, and a home where all were welcome. Her faith was not only professed, it was lived — in every patient she comforted, every child she nurtured, and every stranger she made feel seen.

She was a proud and devoted mother to us, her three children, and a doting grandmother to seven grandchildren, each of whom carries a part of her spirit forward. But her family extended far beyond biology — Adalina was a mother figure to many, offering guidance, kindness, and a steady presence to all who needed it.

Those who knew her will remember her laugh, her wisdom, her fierce belief in God’s plan, and the way she made people feel known and loved. She leaves behind a legacy of grace, service, and faith that will continue to bear fruit for generations.

Dr. Adalina E. Carter is survived by her three beloved children, her seven grandchildren, and the countless lives she blessed along the way.

In honoring her life, we celebrate our mother who gave endlessly, loved fiercely, and lived her faith with quiet grace and power.

Elegy to Adalina

I see these times, these trying times I see these days through fog and haze

could these be inauspicious signs

obscure the joy of better days?

We had our ups and downs you know

but happy was our usual mood

So many good years we can show

Despite some gloomy interludes

A Doctor to the sick and poor

a pastor to the meek

you now go through St peters door

to join the lord, you seek

for being faithful to you God

you wear your crown of life

you healed both souls and minds alike

while soothing human’s fears

and known for preaching with your mike

you dry up human tears

a Spouse and friend, and partner, she

a faithful mother to the end

She loved to laugh, all prayers to thee

Her vision on Jerusalem

Salinas Sopa & Potencias, con los toston

Arroz on Gandules, el pernil, el mofogo,

Gambas al ajillo, pollo al carbon

Work in ponce, trips to aguadilla and la playita

Made best amarillo pastelon

Trips to La Playita, Lived in Bayamon

made memoriea that did live on for decades and beyond

Forever in my thoughts and prayers

your presence will eternal be

you’ll be there though the coming years

you’ll be there through eternity

your children are a part of me

we see you through their many tears

yet joyous memories strong will be

though pain and loss may cast

while heavy shadows loss may cast

do not parental bonds undo

nor darken days so sweetly passed

and still those memories will endure

and we’ll remember you.

Enrique D Carter, MD

May 31, 2025