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Donald Carter Obituary
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He was born September 14, 1953 in Camden, New Jersey to the late Buford and Helen Carter (Hoffman). Don moved to Lagrange in 1961, and graduated from Keystone Highschool in 1972, and Kent State University in 1980. On September 22, 1973 he married his high school sweetheart, Cindy.
Don spent the majority of his career working at the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and retired in 2011. Don enjoyed coaching and playing soccer, hiking, biking, camping and anything involving his grandkids.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Cindy Carter (Sawyer); his children, Lisa (Brian) Bowen of Creston and Matt (Zac) Barr of Norwalk; two grandchildren, Avery and Carter; brother, Bob (Shelia) Carter; brothers-in-law, David (Juanita) Sawyer, Rick Sawyer, Ron (Lori) Sawyer and Bob Stevanus; sisters-in-law, Jane Waldo, Vicki Sawyer and Sandy Carter; multiple nieces and nephews; and special friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his mother and father-in-law, Eugene and Phyllis Sawyer; brothers, Chuck and John Carter, brothers-in-law, Pete and Ted Sawyer and Wally Waldo; and sisters-in-law, Bonnie Stevanus and Connie Sawyer.
Due to Don's disdain of crowds, there will be no calling hours or funeral service. A celebration of life will be planned for a later date.
The family would like to thank all the staff at Lifecare Hospice for their amazing care and support.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or www.stjude.org.
Online condolences may be shared at www.parkerfuneralhomes.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
2 Entries
Carter
April 26, 2025
He was the best papa ever. We went fishing together and we always went camping. He hated Blueberries and he also hated messes. His favorite color was blue and his favorite food was potato soup. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 70, but I still love him. My name is Carter and his last name is Carter. His wife is Cindy Carter. We went to his house all the time. I always jumped in the leaves at his house and he always played soccer and baseball with me. We always played Old Maid, Memory Match, and I always won. We always played in the creek to find bugs. He always went to my sister's cheer games. Sometimes I cheer on the bleachers at the football games. He always came to my rescue and he was the best.
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Avery
April 26, 2025
My name is Avery and I'm 10 years old. This was my grandpa. His name is Donald, but my brother and I called him papa. He was the best papa ever. We went fishing, we always went camping, he always came to my cheer games, and he hated glitter! We also loved to play in the creek and play hide and seek. He also loved to garden, and my mom loves to garden. He is not here any more but we still think of him. He had cancer in his back and he went to Hospice. After we got home from school one day, my dad told me he died. I was very sad but we went to his house and I saw my gaga. That made me feel a little better. His wife is Cindy, but we call her gaga. She is alone now, so we try to spend a lot of time with her. She is the best gaga ever. My Papa died at 70 and lived a long life. That was all about my papa. I love him so much thank you for reading this.
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