Obituary of Page H. Carter

Page H. Carter Page H. Carter, 92, of Olympia passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family at home, Monday afternoon, November 26, 2007. Page was born in Portland, OR on March 21, 1915 to K. Page and Alice Davis Carter. His Grandfather was William D. Carter the founder and publisher of the first subscription newspaper in the Oregon Territory. Page graduated from Brooklyn Grammar School and attended Washington High School in Portland. He worked briefly for Fred Meyer at the original store then joined the Navy in 1935. He became a Pharmacist Mate and was promoted through the ranks to Chief Warrant Officer. Prior to WWII he served aboard the USS Tennessee (BB43) and in the U.S. Navy Hospital in Chelsea, MA. At the outbreak of the war he was already serving in combat aboard the USS Zircon (PY16) in the North Atlantic and subsequently aboard the USS Knight (DD633) for the invasions of Sicily and Italy and then on convoy duty in the North Atlantic. Before the end of the war he was transferred to the Naval Hospital at Monmouth, OR, where he served as the Chief Commissary Officer. After the war he opened his own clinical laboratory in Pasco, WA and was one of the organizers and the first Director of the Kennewick Hospital. Following that, he moved his family to Seattle where he graduated in 1954 with a degree in General Studies from the University of Washington where he also attended two years of Law School. He then was employed at Boeing as a Contract Administrator. In 1971 he moved to Olympia and joined the Facilities Planning Department of the State Department of Transportation. Following his retirement he spent his years writing poetry and researching and investigating the Washington PERS1 Public Employees Retirement System. The first volume of his poetry was published in 2002 and has been enjoyed by many. It is hoped that a second volume of his poetry, already in the planning phase, will still be published. The body of his research on PERS1 was donated to the Washington State Archives earlier this year. He is survived by his loving wife Barbara, five children of his own: Page Carter (Martha) of Olympia, David Carter (Sue) of Lake Stevens, Jane Gorham (Dan) of Puyallup, Mari Esser (Jerry) of Hoodsport, and Richard Valentine (Maureen) of Lake Forrest Park; four step-children: Tom Knudtzon (Kerry) of North Bend, Kris Wilson (Glenn) of Elk Grove, CA, Jeff Knudtzon (Lori) of Reno, NV, and Kathy Wright (Ron) of Lacey; eleven grandchildren, seven step-grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Page will be missed for his ability to charm, and his unfailing intellect, wit and open friendliness. He was a wonderful man. Please leave your memories of Page and your condolences for the family by clicking on the "View Guestbook" link below.