Grant Lael Carter

Grant Lael Carter, our dear and beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather passed away peacefully on May 12, 2021 at the age of 98. He was surrounded by children and family. Lael was dearly loved by all his family and will be remembered as a selfless man dedicated to them and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Born August 6, 1922 to Laurence G. Carter and Emma Kunzler, he was the oldest of the six siblings. His childhood was spent in Park Valley, Utah where he loved being the “farm boy” and experiencing all the joys of life in a small community.  Lael would spend hours explaining the intricacies of the hay derrick or how he vividly remembered the first phone arriving in the valley.  He explained how people thought their family was well off because they had a double seater out-house. Even in his nineties he could describe every building in the valley and the name of every classmate.  He loved Park Valley.

At age 16 Lael moved with his 15-year-old brother, Kay, to Brigham City where they attended high school at Box Elder High.  After the small Park Valley School, the 500 students at Box Elder seemed immense.  After realizing he would never excel at baseball, he found joy in playing in the marching band and acting in the plays at the school.  It was also here that he developed a love for Shakespeare.  After graduating from Box Elder High School, Lael attended Weber State College for two years and then transferred to the University of Utah where he studied electrical engineering and graduated in 1944. After graduation Lael joined the Navy.

While attending the University of Utah Lael met the ‘love of his life’, Rowena Ashton, who agreed to a date with Lael because he was “harmless” and she didn’t have to worry about losing her heart! Little did she know how quickly they would fall in love. Rowena followed him out to California during his Navy training and they continued their courtship. She came home engaged. Rowena and Lael were married on October 1, 1945 in the Salt Lake Temple. Soon after their marriage, Lael shipped out and served as a radar engineer on two different ships anchored near Korea, China and the Philippines at the end of WWII.   Rowena and Lael wrote to one another every day sharing everything from their undying love to the fact that Lael felt the pumpkin pie servings were rather small at Thanksgiving dinner aboard the USS Edgecombe.

After Lael’s return from his military service, he convinced his “city-girl” wife to move to Park Valley where Rowena and Lael both taught at the Park Valley School. Their life there was both challenging and idyllic.  Lael returned to the University of Utah during the summers to get his Master’s Degree in Education and later accepted a job with the Salt Lake School District. In 1955, he accepted a job with Encyclopedia Britannica Films, moving his family first to Denver, Colorado. He had a gift of being truly interested in people and found he had quite a talent as a salesman. Lael was promoted several times and moved with Rowena and his growing family to Columbus, Ohio; Toronto, Canada; Lafayette, California and then back to Salt Lake City, Utah where he settled in 1966. He still traveled extensively for work and relied on Rowena to manage the household.

Lael was a tireless worker and taught his children and grandchildren the value of working hard and working well. Many grandsons have learned how to work long days and how to say a few choice “farm” words while being outworked in the yard with Grandpa. He enjoyed tinkering and repairing things.  He also knew how to relax as well.  Fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, boating, traveling and making grape juice were some of his interests.

Lael was rarely on time to anything and going to a store with him was an investment in time as conversing with the employees was a must.  He never purchased anything of importance before thoroughly researching them first.  He would consult Consumer Reports even about which was the best can opener.

Lael always gave the credit for any success in the home to his sweetheart, Rowena.  Even after 74 years they had a beautiful partnership which was still filled with good conversations, lots of laughter, long prayers and sincere gratitude.  Lael taught his children that he loved his wife and respected her greatly through his actions and through his tender care for their mother. Rowena even served as Lael’s secretary in his business; it was a remarkable companionship that blessed them both and all of their posterity. He would tell anyone who listened that the best decision he ever made was to marry Rowena.

Lael was truly blessed with the ability to make those around him feel understood and important. He would lovingly place his hands on your face, look into your eyes and tell you that he loved you.  He showed that by being interested in the details of your life, by checking your tires and watching you back safely out of his extremely long driveway.  He would laugh and shake his head incredulously at your successes and he would pray LONG and hard for all your worries.

Lael loved the gospel of Jesus Christ and served faithfully in many callings including Sunday school teacher, Ward & Stake Clerk, High Priest Group Leader, Branch President and Counselor in the Bishopric. After retiring, Lael and Rowena fulfilled a mission, serving in a branch of the Church in Oban, Scotland. Their love and influence made a difference for everyone they served alongside. He had a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and always encouraged others to read and study, even as recent as last week with his nurses at the veteran’s home. He knew that Christ was his Savior.

Family was everything to Lael, siblings, in-laws, cousins, nieces, and nephews knew that Lael loved them. Lael is survived by his daughter Cherie (Irv Rencher, deceased), son Grant (Stephanie Gill), son Roger (Kathy Crawford), daughter Renee (Cam Craigo), daughter Carrie, son Mitchell (Paula Stout), 23 grandchildren and 85 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Marvell Hirschi, Luana Heaton, his sister-in-law Lorraine Wilkinson and brother-in-law Dave Roberts.  Preceding him in death were his parents, brother Kay and sisters Betty Jo & Emma Louise.

A special thanks to the doctors, nurses, therapists and caregivers at the Bennion Veterans Home in Payson, Utah.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 14, 2021 at the Foothill Stake Center on 1933 S. 2100 E. in Salt Lake City at 1:00 pm. A viewing will be held from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm on Friday immediately preceding the funeral. Condolences can be left at russonmortuary.com.

The funeral service will be live streamed on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page.  A link to the live stream will be posted below at around 12:50 p.m.