Eldridge Martin Carter, Jr

Mr. Eldridge Martin Carter, Jr., 66, of 710 S. Caroline St. Rockingham died Friday, January 14, in Richmond Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Carter was born in Ellerbe in Blackjack Township in Richmond Co. on April 19, 1933, and raised in the Millstone Community, a son of the late Eldridge Martin and Mary Anna Meacham Carter. He graduated from Ellerbe High School in 1950 and attended King College in Bristol, TN and Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Mortuary Science.

For forty years he was the owner of Carter Funeral Home after purchasing Sedberry Funeral Home from Don E. and Ruby M. Sedberry on January 1, 1958 and relocating it to its present location at 705 Caroline St. In 1973 he opened the Carter Funeral Home in Ellerbe. He relinquished ownership in October 1998 after his deteriorating health prevented him from continuing to serve in his profession. He was a member of both the Nation and North Carolina (District 7) Funeral Director Associations.

For many years he was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints and served as Branch President on 3 different occasions. Mr. Carter was a member of the Rockingham Rotary Club and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also a member of the Richmond Co. Chamber of Commerce where he served as a officer and director during 1990-92.

A graveside service will be 1 p.m. Monday, January 17, at Eastside Cemetery.

Surviving are his wife, Mary Jackson Carter of the home; two daughters; Mrs. Roger T. (Karen) Macfarlane of Provo, Utah and Miss Elizabeth Carter of the home; four grandchildren, Gregory, Charlotte, Leslie, and Caroline MacFarlane of Provo, Utah. Also surviving are five brothers, Hill Carter and Morris Carter of Raleigh, Dwight Carter of Cary, and Travis Carter of Denver; three sisters, Mrs. Clarence (Rebecca) Frazier of Cary, Mrs. Thomas (Diane) Kennedy of Rockingham, and Mrs. Andrew (Willa) Spivey of Ellerbe.

The family will receive friends from 5 a