Necrology

John Robert Carter '39

Apr. 21, 1917-Aug. 26, 2007

John Robert Carter ’39, professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine and a noted pathologist and much admired medical educator, was born on April 21, 1917, in Buffalo, NY. The son of John Harvey Carter, a corporation comptroller, and the former Gertrude Buckpitt, he grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Kenmore, where he was graduated from Kenmore High School. “Jack” Carter came to College Hill in 1935 and joined the Emerson Literary Society. While gaining initial experience in science as a premedical student, he also continued to cultivate his love of music by playing trumpet in the College Band and in Musical Art Society concerts. During his junior year, when a newly formed band led by a then obscure trombonist by the name of Glenn Miller played a one-night stand in the Utica area, Jack Carter was drafted to substitute for its sidelined second trumpeter. And he did so well that he continued to play with the Miller band for the next two summers.

Although also active in debate, Jack Carter devoted himself primarily to preparation for his future vocation. Excelling academically, he served as president of the Biology Club, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received his B.S. degree with honors in biology in 1939. He went on to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he obtained his M.D. degree with honors in 1943. On May 8 of that year, he and Adelaide W. Briggs were married in Kenmore.

In 1946, following an internship and residency in pathology at the University of Iowa Medical School, Dr. Carter went on active duty for a two-year tour as a lieutenant with the U.S. Navy and served as chief pathologist at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He subsequently returned to the University of Iowa and there received promotion through the academic ranks to full professor in 1955. In 1960, he left Iowa to become a professor and chairman of the department of pathology and oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Six years later, Dr. Carter moved on to what was then Western Reserve University, where he would chair its pathology department and serve as director of its Institute of Pathology from 1966 to 1981. Freed from administrative responsibilities in 1981 and named professor emeritus of pathology and orthopedics in 1987, he returned in later years to his favorite field, orthopaedic pathology, which he continued to teach and do research on until just a few years ago. During the course of his highly distinguished career, he contributed to the advancement of medical knowledge through more than a hundred published papers on blood coagulation as well as orthopaedic pathology. A past president of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, he also helped establish the National Autopsy Data Bank, a major resource in providing valuable information for medical treatment. In addition, he was often called upon as a consultant and served on innumerable professional and governmental committees, many of which he chaired.

However, Jack Carter derived particular pride and satisfaction from his contributions to the training of young medical scientists, and among the many honors and accolades he received, he most cherished his teaching awards. As with all great teachers, he inspired his students to learn more. Generations of medical students and residents considered him a friend and mentor, fondly recalling his wit and humor and his “uncanny way of remembering everybody’s name.” They also recalled his treatment of “all people from professional colleagues to the Institute’s cleaning staff with the same respect and humanity.” When time in his exceedingly busy schedule permitted, he devoted it to fly fishing and, earlier in his life, to archery. And he never ceased to enjoy and appreciate music, from classical to big-band.

John R. Carter, a recipient of Hamilton’s Alumni Achievement Award in 1995, died on August 26, 2007, at his home in the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby, at the age of 90. In addition to his wife of 64 years, he is survived by two daughters, Marilyn A. Thompson and Jeanne C. Halpern, and a granddaughter. Dr. Carter’s name will live on at Case Western Reserve in the John R. Carter Award for Medical School Teaching, and nationally for his invaluable contributions to the advance­ment of surgical pathology.

 

Necrology Home