John H. Carter

John Henderson Carter, 93, died Monday, January 28, 2019 at Trinity Rock Island Hospital.

Born on October 25, 1925 in Hamilton County, Illinois, Carter was reared in a three-room house without electricity, natural gas or running water.  During the Great Depression, Carter trapped and cleaned rabbits, and sold their furs to a Chicago retail chain for five cents each. At age 18, Carter was graduated from Thompsonville High School in Franklin County, Illinois in 1943.  After teaching school and coaching high school basketball, he moved with his wife, the former Jean Schwabe, from Thompsonville to Moline, IL where he worked as a laborer at the former Minneapolis-Moline farm implement company. Later, he became an appliance worker for the former Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company.  He retired from the utility company in 1987. Carter was an avid hunter and fisherman and was a member of the Scott County Shooting Club near Bettendorf, Iowa.  He was known for his outstanding trap and skeet shooting. Carter was a member of Calvary Church of the Quad Cities, Moline.  He faithfully served as a greeter for many years. Carter's wife preceded him in death in 2014. Carter's two brothers, Delmer and Herbert, also preceded him in death, along with his sister, Ruby.

Carter is survived by his son, Thomas Earl Carter and his wife, Janie, of Nashville, Tennessee; his grandson, Travis John Carter and his wife, Amber, of Dallas, Texas; great-granddaughters, Riley Carter and Sydney Carter of Dallas, Texas; several beloved in-laws including Earl and Karen Schwabe, Jack and Anna Fae Schwabe and Gordon and Pat Schwabe, all of Moline.

At Carter's request, there will be no funeral or visitation.  At his additional request, his body will be cremated at Esterdahl Mortuary and Crematory, Moline, IL.  Carter’s ashes will be interred beside his wife at Mt. Etna Cemetery, Franklin County, rural Thompsonville, IL.