James D. Carter

James D. Carter, 91, died on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. James D. Carter III was born on June 11, 1930. He grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia and was a resident most of his life. His father was James D. Carter, Jr. a Spanish and French professor at The College of William and Mary, and his mother was Grace Dozier Carter. He is predeceased by his brother, John R. (Jack) Carter. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Elizabeth Terry Hamilton, two sons, James (Jay) D. Carter IV and his wife, Ilse, Lee H. Carter, a sister, Anne Denieul, and a granddaughter, Grace Carter. Jim graduated from Matthew Whaley School in Williamsburg. He played the position of quarterback the first year they had a football team, and his team finished undefeated. The coach was Tom Nugent who went on to coach at VMI, Florida State, and the University of Maryland. Jim went to Washington & Lee University for his first year of College. He transferred to William and Mary in Williamsburg, where he received an A.B. in economics in 1952. He immediately entered the Marshall-Wythe School of Law and received a Juris Doctor degree in 1954. In 1959, Jim became a partner of Dick Benschoten in the new firm of Benschoten and Carter, Inc. in Williamsburg, Va. After Mr. Benschoten's death in 1965, Jim and his brother Jack purchased his interest in the company and the Queens Lake Development Company appointed him to manage the development and sales of the 550 lot Queens Lake Subdivision. He was on their Board of Directors from 1965 to 1985. Jim, along with three other people in 1966, formed the Williamsburg Life Insurance Company, Inc. with its home office in Williamsburg. Jim was the vice president. It later merged with Independent Liberty Life Insurance Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan. While developing the Queens Lake Subdivision, Jim developed Chanco Woods on Route 5, the Cardinal Acres Subdivision near Jamestown, and The Turner's Neck Subdivision in New Kent County. In 1972 Jim, his brother Jack, and two other men developed The First Settlers Campground near Jamestown. The camp ground was sold to a developer in 1996 and is now Landfall at Jamestown. In 1982, Jim, his brother, and a third person started a travel agency called USA International Tours. It was sold in 1989. In 1986, Jim, his brother, and another investor started the Longhill Gate subdivision. It was developed with 142 townhouse homes. Jim served 12 years as a member and later Chairman of the York County School Board Selection Commission. He was on the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg-James City Chamber of Commerce in the 1960's. He was responsible for the establishment of the Williamsburg Multiple Listing Association and was the first president of the Williamsburg-James City County Board of Realtors and also a member of the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Home Builders Association. As a member of the Board, he served on the Home Pac Committee and the Legislative Committee where he served as an alternate director to the National Home Builder's Association. Jim loved to hunt and fish, and passed this appreciation to his two sons. We will miss Jim's warm smile and his entertaining stories. If you wish, expressions of sympathy can be made to the James D. Carter, Jr. scholarship fund at The College of William and Mary. Checks should be made payable to William and Mary and sent to the Gift Accounting Office, P.O. Box 1693, Williamsburg, VA 23187. Burial will be at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 2P.M. Bucktrout Funeral Home is assisting the family.