Joe Thornton Carter Sr

Joe Thornton Carter, Sr., 82, resident of Fifth Avenue, died Saturday, February 7, 2015 at NHC Columbia. Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols with Rev. David Spencer and Rev. Jay Hoppus officiating. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19. The family will visit with friends Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Notes of sympathy may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. Born in Gainesville, Georgia, he was the second son of the late George Laurent Carter, Sr. and Martha Cartledge Carter. As a child, he resided in Georgia and Kentucky prior to moving to Columbia in 1936 and settled with his parents in the Riverside area in 1938. He was employed by the Princess Theater when it was destroyed by fire in 1949 and was a 1950 graduate of Columbia Central High School. A Korean War veteran, he served in the U. S. Navy 1951-1955 aboard the U.S.S. Foss. In the 1950s and 1960s, he owned and operated Carter Refrigeration Service. He was employed by the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville in the 1970s and 1980s. Mr. Carter was a member of Riverside United Methodist Church and former member of First United Methodist Church. Survivors include his sons, Joe Thornton Carter, Jr. of Columbia and David Tully (Regina) Carter of Murfreesboro; granddaughters, Kasey Nicole Carter and Laura Desaray Carter of Murfreesboro; brothers, George Laurent Carter, Jr. and William Hull Carter of Columbia; nephew, Stephen Laurent Carter of Nashville and five first cousins. Active pallbearers are Glen Nelson, Tim Johnson, Josh Seiner, Brian Mason, Sr., Brian Mason, Jr., and Richard "Dicky" Thompson. Honorary pallbearers include Wayne Bass, Herman Dodson, Bobby Bolton, Ashley Brown, Jimmy Cranford, and Dr. Taylor Rayburn.