Dr. Samuel Henley Carter

Dr. Samuel Henley Carter, 84, of Ft. Defiance, died Thursday at his home. Dr. Carter, the son of Samuel Henley and Frances Fleming Carter, was born July 17, 1921 in The Plains, Va. He was a graduate of Episcopal High School, the University of Virginia, and the University of Virginia Medical School. He was a member of the Seven Society. He also was a member of St. Anthony Hall, the Raven Society, and the IMP Society. On March 30, 1946, he married Katherine Kivlighan of Staunton. Dr. Carter served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Korean War. He opened the Ft. Defiance Medical Center in 1954, with Dr. William Painter, and practiced family medicine there with Dr. Painter and Dr. Michael Hanna until his retirement. He also was the founder and co-owner of the Carter-Coffman Tree Farm in Ft. Defiance. Dr. Carter served on the Augusta County School Board from 1988 to 1995 and was a board member of the Virginia Alliance for Education. He also was on the board of Augusta Medical Center Hospice of the Shenandoah and was a committee member of Hospice's Camp Dragonfly, where he served as a volunteer for seven years. He was a member of the Verona Kiwanis Club. Dr. Carter was a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry and was junior warden. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Harriet Claiborne; and a son, Thomas Fleming Carter. Dr. Carter is survived by his wife; seven children and their spouses, Henley and Mary Carter of Staunton, Beverley and Steve Coffman of Ft. Defiance, Joe Carter of Ft. Defiance, Alex Carter of Verona, Lee Carter of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Rob and Anna Carter of Charlotte, N.C., and Katie and Paul Zimmer of San Diego, Ca.; one daughter-in-law, Marcy Stein of Pittsburgh, Pa.; 12 grandchildren, Anne Carter Smith and her husband, Dean, of Charlotte, Lee Coffman of Ft. Defiance, Gus, Sam and Kate Zimmer of San Diego, Hunter and Heath Carter of Harrisonburg, Stuart and Sam Carter of Charlotte, and Thomas and Joseph Carter and Julia Stein of Pittsburgh; and two great-grandchildren, Katherine and Wesley Smith of Charlotte. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Staunton, with burial to follow in the Augusta Stone Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Ft. Defiance. The family will receive friends anytime at the residence. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to AMC Hospice of the Shenandoah, P.O. Box 215, Fishersville, Va., 22939. Henry Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.