SAVANNAH, GEORGIA - General Joseph “Joe” Vernon Carter, U. S. Army (Ret.), 83, of Savannah, Georgia and formerly of Cleveland, Tennessee, widower of Maudine Barrineau Carter, died July 15, 2010, at Hospice Savannah in Savannah, Georgia.

He was born Sept. 18th 1927 in Kingsport, Tennessee to John Washington Carter and Vest Lee Vanzant Carter of Scott County, Virginia, a descendent of Colonial Virginia landed gentry and Pennsylvania Dutch farmers.   He was also a cousin to several American Presidents, senators and military heroes.  He graduated in 1947 from Dobbins-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tennessee.  He received a Masters Degree in Business and Banking from Louisiana State University in 1972.  He was a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College.  He served in the U. S. Navy on the USS Enterprise during World War II and with the U. S. Army 278th Infantry during the Korean Conflict.  After the Korean Conflict he continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve.  During the 1996 Olympics, he served with the Tennessee Defense Force (Tennessee Home Guard) commanding this security unit at the Olympics Whitewater Venue in Polk County.  In 1998, while commanding the United States Service Command, he was promoted to the rank for Four-star General.  He retired from the service to his country on July 31, 2003.

He and his family moved to Cleveland in 1959 where he worked in management with Domestic Loan and Thrift.  He then went on to serve as Senior Vice President of the Cleveland National Bank; Executive Vice President of Central Bank and Trust Company of Lexington, Kentucky; President and CEO of the Peoples Bank of Polk County in Benton, Tennessee; President and CEO of Carter Consumer Credit Corporation in Cleveland, Tennessee as well as several other companies before retiring.

He was one of the founding members of Stuart Park Baptist Church and was a member of Westwood Baptist Church since 1961.  In the past, he was a member of the Cleveland Kiwanis Club, Vice President and Campaign Chairman of the Cleveland March of Dimes, member of the YMCA, Vice Chairman of the Cleveland City School Board, member of the Cleveland Country Club, President and Chairman of the Board of Ocoee Sertoma Club, Governor of the Southeast Tennessee Sertoma Club International, President of the Board for the Boys Club, Vice Commander of the North Carolina VFW, member of the Cleveland Post of the American Legion and VFW, Scoutmaster of Troop 52 and Ocoee District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Maudine Barrineau Carter.

Surviving are his son, Anthony D. Carter and wife, Mary, of Cleveland; his daughter, Patricia Jo Kibble of Savannah, Georgia; grandchildren, Christopher M. Carter and wife, Colleen, of Boston, Massachusetts, Stuart Carter of Cleveland, Tennessee, and Katie Kibble Farmer and her husband, Toby, and Whitney Kibble and his great-granddaughter, Abby Farmer, all of Savannah, Georgia.  Also surviving are his brothers, Buddy C. Carter and wife, Louise, of Kingsport, Tennessee and Jerry W. Carter and wife, Anna, of Atlanta, Georgia; his sister-in-law, Pearle F. Barrineau of Daniel Island, South Carolina, and several nephews and nieces, cousins and other relatives, in Kingsport, Tennessee, Scott County, Virginia, and South Carolina.

A private funeral service, with full military honors, will be held at 2:30 o’clock Monday afternoon, July 19, 2010, at the graveside, Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Remembrances: Hospice Savannah - Post Office Box #13190, Savannah, Georgia 31416-0190 or www.hospicesavannah.org.