Darlene McCarter

Our beloved mother, grandmother and friend, Florence Darlene McCarter, passed through the veil into eternity on April 15, 2025. She was born July 16, 1931, in Portland, Oregon, the third child of Floyd Waterman and Grace Ferguson.

Darlene grew up during the Great Depression and learned to use things up and wear them out. Despite being hungry all the time, she learned at an early age to feed chickens, milk cows, ride horses, hoe a garden and harvest a variety of crops. If she wasn't doing chores, she was tucked away somewhere reading a book. She remained an avid reader throughout her life, often reading the same book repeatedly.

Her parents divorced at an early age, and she subsequently was raised by her mother. Having moved around a lot as an adolescent, she was often the new kid in school, learning how to adapt and overcome life's challenges.

Darlene met Raymond Doyle at Banks High School when she was a freshman, and he was a senior. After Ray's two-year service in the Navy, he returned to Banks, and they were married near the end of her senior year of high school. Their marriage produced three children, Raymond, Raylene and Ronald.

Eventually the marriage dissolved, and later Darlene married the great love of her life. She said he was a hunk, and his name was Bruce McCarter from Indiana. They would spend 55 years together having one child, Rodney.

Darlene said their secret to getting along in marriage was, when necessary, argue and hash out differences in the early morning, but after 10 am a truce was drawn, and they had to be nice to one another moving forward. She also said another reason their marriage worked is that "he made me laugh."

After Darlene joined Bruce in Alaska in 1974, she mostly worked as a grocery store checker and saved her money. She wanted to travel the world and see all 50 states. And she did. Traveling was a passion of hers, earning her lots of fond memories and many stamps in her passport.

Throughout her life, she was health conscious, exercised vigorously and set a good example for others. She was an unrelenting animal rights enthusiast who supported many animal charities and shelters.

In 2010 her husband, Bruce, passed leaving her a widow for nearly 15 years.

Later in her life as she began to struggle with health issues, she was helped tremendously by her family in Fairbanks, neighbors and her friends at Faith Baptist Church. She often expressed thanksgiving for the many practical ways in which people cared for her. Her family and friends care was testimony of their love for her. She was kind, loved to laugh, had a knack for always looking at the bright side of things and will be missed dearly.

Darlene is survived by three children, a daughter-in-law and son-in-law, ten grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

Darlene and Bruce were both cremated at death. Their ashes will be mixed together, uniting them once again, and spread in a place that will take them far and wide. As one granddaughter said, "How romantic!"

Darlene did not wish for a funeral, or celebration of life. If you would like to pay tribute to Darlene, please donate to an animal rights charity or your local animal shelter.