Robert Merton Carter

Robert Merton Carter (August 29, 1928 - January 3, 2026)

Rev. Robert Merton Carter, age 97, of Belle Plaine, died on Saturday, January 3, 2026. A funeral service for Pastor Carter will be held Sunday, January 18, 2026, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine at 2 p.m. with Rev. Daniel Slaughter, officiating. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the service. Burial for Robert will take place Monday, January 19, 2026, at Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Eitzen, Minnesota. A visitation will occur from 10-10:30 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church prior to the burial at 10:30 a.m.

Bob was born August 29, 1928, in Hettinger, North Dakota, to Andrew and Ferne (Bennett) Carter. He was born again and brought into Christ’s kingdom through power of Holy Baptism on October 7, 1928, at the Lutheran Church in Reeder, North Dakota. He publicly confessed his faith in the ceremony of confirmation at Snoqualmie Valley Lutheran Church in Snoqualmie, Washington, on May 31, 1942.

He married Doris Schroeder on July 10, 1960, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Lord blessed their marriage of sixty years with nine children. She preceded him in death in December 2020.

He began his studies for the pastoral ministry at Concordia Academy in Portland, Oregon, graduating in 1947. He graduated from Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin, in 1951 and from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, in 1955. He served the vicar year of his seminary training at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Winona, Minnesota.

He served his Savior faithfully as a husband, father, and grandfather; as a tutor and instructor at Northwestern Lutheran Academy in Mobridge, South Dakota (1955-1957); as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Town Ellington (rural Appleton), Wisconsin and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Stephensville, Wisconsin (1957-1969); Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1969-1971); St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Freeland, Michigan (1971-1975); Faith Lutheran Church in Hillman, Michigan, and Faith Lutheran Chapel in Alpena, Michigan (1975-1980); and Faith Lutheran Church in East Jordan, Michigan (1980-1985); and as a nurse’s assistant at Bortz Nursing Home in Petoskey, Michigan, from 1984 to 2012.

God called Bob to his heavenly home on January 3, 2026. He had reached the age of 97 years, four months, and six days. He is survived by his nine children, Rev. William (Claudine) Carter of Brownsville, Wisconsin; Roger (Kelly) Carter of Castle Rock, Colorado; Elisabeth (Gary) Manske of Appleton, Wisconsin; Susan (David) Zabel of Spokane, Washington; Joan (William) Arndt of Lakeville, Minnesota; Sharon (Mark) Renner of Rochester, Minnesota; Sandra (Thomas) Flunker of Mankato, Minnesota; Paula (Chad) Krueger of Appleton, Wisconsin; and Douglas Carter of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; by 34 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren (with three more on the way), and by eleven nieces and nephews, and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Doris; his sister, Ardene (Paul) Reynolds; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Marie (Rod) Myren, Hilda Owen, Leo (Janet) Schroeder, Alvin (Donna) Schroeder, and Delbert (Mary) Schroeder; by eight nieces and nephews; and by one stillborn grandson, Nathaniel Carter.

Memorials are suggested to a scholarship fund that will be established in Bob and Doris’ name for students studying to be pastors, teachers, and staff ministers at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota.