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Fred Carter loved the Creator and His creatures
By PETE NICHOLS
Special to the Times-Journal
Ten years ago I wrote an article about
the late Fred Carter for another pub
lication, In the article I quoted Carter
as saying, ‘Till I die, I’d work in
prison ministry.”
His words were prophetic, for Carter died
after a heart attack April 6. At the time, he had
plans to go to Milledgeville the next weekend to
participate for the 90th-plus time in the Bill
Glass “Weekend of Champions'” prison ministry.
It was only fitting —but highly unusual-for
the weekend to be dedicated to Carter.
“In 25 years this was the first time we’ve
dedicated a weekend to an individual,” Emory
Wilson, special assistant to Bill Glass, stated.
“We had his picture in the lobby.”
A cabinet maker and retired Blue Bird Cos.
employee, this Fort Valley minister who was
associate pastor of Kathleen Baptist Church in
Houston County, was introduced to prison min
istry in 1987 by Wilson, who at that time lived
in Fort Valley but now is a Perry resident.
They went on many weekends together, wit
nessing to prison inmates plus witnessing
“to a man plowing a mule, in a bank, in an air
port lobby at a mall or on a plane,” Wilson
remembered.
“He never knew a stranger,” Wilson contin
ued. “He was always the same humble person,
talking about the Lord.”
Austin Anderson, North Carolina director of
the Bill Glass ministry and a retired chaplain in
the state Department of Corrections, testified to
Carter’s effectiveness in witnessing when he
said in tribute, “He had the God-given talent,
sparkling personality, and sense of humor to
meet and witness to people of any ethnic group
and of any educational and social level.”
Wilson recalled a prison ministry weekend
Graham visits sister in
Columbus during weekend
Geraldine Graham visited her
sister, Ruth Blizzard and husband,
Mutt, in Columbus during an
overnight getaway last week.
•••
Harold and Jean Nation were
the weekend hosts for his sister,
Mary Johnson and her husband,
Al, who were visiting from
Lexington. The four spent Sunday
afternoon exploring and enjoying
the Museum of Aviation at Robins
Air Force Base.
•••
Eugene “Big’un” Graham cele
brated his 47th birthday April 22,
with a cookout in his honor. Nine
family members and a special
guest enjoyed grilled hamburgers
and hotdogs with all the fixin’s.
•••
This past weekend, Geraldine
Graham and her sisters, Loretta
Jones, Betty Jowers and Jo Anne
Harber, spent Saturday visiting
while on a shopping trip to
Atlanta.
•••
The Darsey Family Reunion,
featuring descendants of John and
Kate Darsey, will be held at noon
May 18 at Alice Johnson’s
Paradise Haven Camphouse at
Elko, 5 miles east of 1-75 (exit
41a) along Ga. 26.
Some 125 of the family attend
ed last year and that many or more
are expected this year. Three have
been lost since last year through
death.
•••
Congratulations!
To Janet Lynn Gunnells and
John E. Hagye Jr. of Atlanta upon
the announcement of their
engagement.
The bride-elect is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Joel H. Gunnells
of Marietta and is also the daugh
ter of the late Kathryn B. Gunnells
of Atlanta. She is the granddaugh
ter of Cornelia Gunnells of
Atlanta and the late Rev. Paul H.
Gunnells, and Edward R. Bailey
and the late Margaret Bailey.
The groom elect is the son of
Jimmy and Teresa Floyd of
Bonaire and the grandson of Mr.
and Mrs. Harold Meadows of
Kathleen; Lucylle Floyd of
Hawkinsville and the late Tom
Floyd and the late Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Hagye of Winterville,
Ohio.
The wedding is planned for
May 17 at Dunwoody United
Methodist Church in Dunwoody.
To Candice Rend McLeod
of Fayetteville and Kevin Jason
Reese of Biloxi, Miss., upon the
announcement of their engage
ment. ..
The bride-elect is the daughter
of Rend Buchanan of Fayetteville
and Hendley McLeod of Perry,
and the granddaughter of Victoria
Dunaway of Hawkinsville and the
late Royace Dunaway, and the late
about a year and a half ago in New Mexico. On
the return plane trip Carter was sitting several
seats ahead of Wilson. Wilson could see him nod
ding and talking to the woman sitting beside him.
“All of a sudden he looked back at me,
smiled, and held up the Four Spiritual Laws (an
evangelistic pamphlet). I knew he had won her
to the Lord,” Wilson continued.
Carter was a great recruiter for the Bill Glass
ministry as well, Wilson reported. Carter’s fel
low church member Oville Fairchilds was one
of those recruited; he went on 26 trips, 25 of
them with Carter.
“We were the best of friends,” said
Fairchilds. “I’d trust him with my life. He was
an honorable man (who) had a strong belief in
God. He loved people. Money didn’t matter to
him except for what it could be used for.”
On the Bill Glass ministry weekends partic
ipants pay their own way. Wilson remembered
once that Carter had just paid up his charge
card when word came that a Missouri friend’s
14-year-old son had accidentally shot and
killed his twin brother.
“Fred didn’t hesitate,” according to Wilson.
“He went to the Macon airport and paid S7OO
for a ticket to visit Jerry Morris in Rogersville,
Mo. He ministered to the family for about two
weeks, and before he left to come home, Jerry’s
church had raised $1,500 for Fred.”
Morris considered Carter “part of our fami
ly, and we mourn the fact that it will be a peri
od of time before we see him again.”
“One of his many sayings we will always
treasure was when he was trying to tell us how
much he loved us. He would say, ‘Jerry, think
of all the good things you can, then add that
much more to it.’”
‘“Faithfulness, consistency, love and enthu
siasm are the words that come to mind when I
think of Fred Carter,” said Bill Glass last week
Potpourri
Pauline Lewis
Lifestyle Editor
Frances McLeod Green of Perry.
He is the grandson of Mr. and
Mrs. Joe Allen of Fayetteville,
Thomas Reese Sr. of Riverdale,
and Lola Blood worth of
McDonough.
The wedding is planned for
May 3 at Bethany United
Methodist Church in Fayetteville.
To Anne Rankin Tarbutton
and John Samuel Mori, both of
Atlanta, who were married April
19 at Sandersville United
Methodist Church. The bride is
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Benjamin James Tarbutton Jr of
Sandersville, and the groom is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Jean Alert
Mori of Atlanta. The Rev. James
Earl Duke officiated.
Julia Ashley Evans was a junior
attendant.
A reception was held at the
bride’s parents’ home. After a
wedding trip to St. Barthelemy,
the couple will live in Atlanta. The
groom, the nephew of former U.S.
Sen. Sam Nunn, is the son of
Betty Nunn and Jean Mori, and is
the grandson of Mrs. Elizabeth
Nunn.
To Sue Fleming, operations
officer at the Bank of Perry, fea
tured in a middle Georgia publica
tion last week.
-To Marla Cherie Moseley of
Dawson and William David
Sellers of Perry, upon the
announcement of their engage
ment.
The bride-elect is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Malcolm
Moseley and the granddaughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Tom L. Coleman of
Hayneville, Ala., and the late Mr.
and Mrs. Wordner W. Moseley.
She is a graduate of Westfield
Schools She is a teacher for the
Dougherty County School
System.
The wedding is planned for
July 12 at First Baptist Church in
Perry.
The groom-elect is the son of
Mrs. William Oliver Sellers of
Dawson and the late Mr. Sellers.
He is the grandson of the late Mr.
(See POTPOURRI, Page 3B)
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in tribute to his friend and co-worker.
“He’s been a daddy to me” were words
Chester Ferguson, deacon of Kathleen Baptist
Church, to summarize Carter. “I can’t say
enough about him; he was an inspiration to me.
I’ll miss him. He touched many a person. He
was 88 and could work me down any time.”
Thirty persons associated with the prison min
istry came in early so that they could attend
Carter’s funeral. If the funeral had been a day later,
Wilson said, 300 men would have been there.
Carter’s grandson Jeff Carter, youth director
at Dayspring Baptist Church and Byron resi
dent, remembered that his grandfather told him
for years, “You’re wasting your time. God’s
going to call you to preach.” Three years ago, at
age 36, Jeff did surrender his life to the ministry.
“My granddaddy was a great man,” said Jeff
Carter. “He treated all people the same and he
loved to see people come to know the Lord. He
was the best person I know at separating the sin
from the sinner.”
According to Jeff Carter, his grandfather
won someone to the Lord even in his death, for
Jeff’s mother-in-law “got saved after seeing
Granddaddy in the hospital Saturday.”
Fred Carter’s pastor, Keith Kersey, praised
“his dedication to and hear, for the Lord ... his
encouraging word for young and old alike ...
his wealth of knowledge and storehouse of wis
dom and humor.”
Another co-worker in the prison ministry,
Jim Lang, executive vice-president of the prison
ministry, called Carter “a hero of the faith and a
man of deep conviction who positively influ
enced the lives of thousands for Christ.”
Wilson, calling Carter “a great warrior for
the Lord,” said he “can envision Christ saying
to Fred, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
(Pete Nichols is associated with the Byron
Gazette.)
Lifestyle
Page 1B
Wednesday April 30, 1997, Houston Times-Journal
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Special Photo
SPEAKING TO PRISONERS - Bill Glass (left) Speaks to
prison inmates and members of the Perry Sonriders
Motorcycle Club at a Milledgeville prison recently.
Glass coming to Perry
By EMORY WILSON
Special to the Times-Journal
The Bill Glass Ministry
Weekend of Champions were in
Milledgeville April 11-13.
During the weekend, some
2,996 inmates made decisions to
receive Jesus Christ as their sav
ior. Some of these were rededica
tions.
This set a record number for
Georgia. Attendance of counselors
numbered 404 persons. They
came from all over America and
each paid their own expenses.
The Bill Glass Ministry group
will return to the Perry area April
17-19, 1998. Participants will visit
11 prisons in the midstate area in
an effort to reach approximately
8,500 inmates.
Houston County was represent
ed with 46 counselors at the
Milledgeville weekend.
Those attending from the Perry
area included Jim Poss, Judy Poss,
Sue Vining, Gretta Long, Claire
Stevens, frank Mellette, Dick Earl,
Homer Rood, Randy Loggins,
Ronnie Stanley, Mayo Sexton,
todd Lowery, Robert Luckey,
Emory Wilson, Anne Wilson, Jan
Danborth, Larry Danborth, Ed
Fiddle and Pill Priss.