Johnny Eugene Carter, son of Eugene Coy Carter and Jewell Georgene Smith Carter, was born April 16, 1945 in Mansfield and departed this life on Feb. 19, 2021 at Heart of the Ozarks Healthcare in Ava at the age of 75 years, 10 months and 3 days. He was united in marriage to Biddie Smith on June 25, 1964, and to this union of 33 years, two children were born. After Biddie’s death in 1997, he married Sarah. He was preceded in death by his parents, Coy and Jewell Carter; wives, Biddie and Sarah; sister, Vivian Lynch; and nephew, James Curtis Kirkland. John is survived by his daughter, Gwendolyn David and husband, Buck, of Branson; son, John Carter Jr. and wife, Sabrina, of Mansfield; eight grandchildren, Jessica Woody, Austin Forrest, Allison Forrest, Destiny Hatfield, Tyler David, Coy Carter, Cody Carter and Tallana Carter; eight great-grandchildren; three brothers, Marshall Carter and wife, Judy, of Independence; Rex Carter and wife, Kathy, and Ronnie Carter and wife, Sandra, all of Mansfield; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
John was born and raised in Mansfield and had lived at Macomb and Norwood during his adult life. He was a graduate of Mansfield High School in the Class of 1963. After graduating, he started working for Debco Construction in Springfield. During that time, he was a construction supervisor for several years before becoming the property ranch manager at Pyramid Land and Cattle Co, which later became Shiloh Ranch. After that, he ran his own construction business until retiring. He enjoyed teaching family and friends how to ride, rope and take care of horses and cattle. He also loved training young horses on the ranch and demonstrated the ethic of hard work. He hosted many trail rides on the ranch where all attendees learned to ride horses in the rough terrain of the area. Many laughs and great times were found here upon Bryant Creek. In his spare time, he loved hunting, fishing and the annual trip to Colorado to elk hunt. He truly enjoyed sharing his craft of shooting guns and hunting with the grandkids. At one time, he had a dream of helping children and adults with disabilities to learn about horses and to hunt and fish. The family prefers not to receive flowers, but any memorial gifts can be made to the following in memoriam of Johnny Carter Sr., Shoot’n for Dreams, 4678 State Highway U, Rogersville, Mo. 65742. Donations will be used to help people with disabilities use adapted equipment to live out their dream to hunt. Johnny (dad, grandpa) will be greatly missed and we will remember the special times we rode horses & shared many hunting stories together in laughter. A small graveside service will be held on March 6 at 12 p.m. at Eaton Cemetery on Highway AC to road 164 in Ozark County. There will also be a celebration of life at a later date.
