Louis Loraine Carter, Jr.
Louis Carter, Jr. Obituary
Dr. Louis Lorraine Carter, Jr. entered his heavenly home at 4 am on Christmas Day 2021. He was born April 16, 1939 to Dr. Louis Lorraine Carter and Janet Carter of Memphis, TN. Louis leaves his loving wife of 59 years, Anne Greer Carter of Lookout Mountain, TN; his son, David Louis Carter of Memphis; his daughter, Laney Carter of Chattanooga; and two grandsons, Joseph and Polk Eldridge.
Dr. Carter’s passing is mourned by many friends and colleagues around the world. His medical mission career spanned five decades from 1974 to 2020. Louis and Anne always worked as a team with Anne assisting faithfully at his side.
Louis graduated from McCallie School, Wheaton College, and The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He did his internship at the University of Texas Medical School Southwestern in Dallas and entered the US Air Force from 1967 to 69 and served in Vietnam. After the military, he returned to Dallas for residency in general surgery.
Louis and Anne then served in Nigeria for seven years with SIM (formally Sudan Interior Mission). They then returned to Memphis in 1981 for Louis to do additional training in reconstructive surgery and spent one year on the UT medical faculty.
Believing his calling to Africa not complete, Louis, Anne, and their children returned to Nigeria to serve another three years in Jos. Afterwards, they again returned to America, this time to Chattanooga for their children’s education and for further training in hand surgery. Dr. Cauley Hayes was his mentor during seven years’ practice with the Plastic and Hand Surgery Group. He then returned to serve with SIM, this time with a worldwide view, which resulted in the founding of the Plastic Surgery Group for Missionary and National Doctors. This was training for missionary and mainly African doctors whereby Dr. Carter took his knowledge and expertise to the locations where these doctors served to equip them to restore life, limb, and beauty by reconstructive surgery to those who were outcasts because of their deformity. Many of those were considered to have evil spirits. The Carters took equipment, books, surgical supplies, and teaching to remote mission hospitals. They remained in each place usually two to three months living and working with the doctors at their place of service. This ministry spanned two and a half decades from 1996 to 2020.
Dr. Carter co-edited a book with Dr. Peter Thumb titled Principals of Reconstructive Surgery for Surgeons in Africa.
Dr. Carter was honored by McCallie School with an alumnus award; by Wheaton College with a distinguished humanitarian award for an alumnus; by the American College of Surgeons with the Surgical Humanitarian Award; by Christian Medical and Dental Society as Educator of the Year, by Crichton College with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, and by the UT Medical School with membership in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.
Awards were frequent and appreciated but Louis Carter looked forward to hearing the words from Jesus, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
A memorial service celebrating the life of Dr. Carter will be at Woodland Park Baptist Church, 6735 Standifer Gap Road, on Saturday, January 8, at 2 pm. The family will receive friends there from noon until two.
Memorial donations may be made to:
1. SIM, USA
PO Box 7900
Charlotte, NC 28241
Designated to Medical Ministry
2. Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons
440 W. Colfax #1458
Palatine, IL 60067
Designated to Plastic Surgery Training Program
3. First Evangelical Church
735 Ridge Lake Blvd
Memphis TN 38120
Designated to Missions Fund
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Services
January 8, 2022
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Woodland Park Baptist Church, Standifer Gap Road
January 8, 2022
2:00 PM
Woodland Park Baptist Church, Standifer Gap Road