Ralph William Carter

Ralph William Carter passed away at home on August 24, 2026, surrounded by his family. He was 78.

Ralph was born in Superior, Wisconsin; the first born of Donald J. and Barbara J. Carter. He was joined two years later by his sister, Patricia, and six years later by brother, Donald Jr. He lived an idyllic childhood; learning how to water ski and ice skate, helping his dad with carpentry jobs, delivering the newspaper to his neighbors, shoveling snow, mowing lawns and being a fan of the Milwaukee Braves and Green Bay Packers. He was 9 when the Braves beat the Yankees in the 1957 World Series, and he idolized Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn. Ralph is still an avid Packer fan and is no doubt talking football in Heaven with former Packers. An adventurous kid, he would frequently leave after breakfast and ride his bike to the Superior where he would exchange coins with foreign ship crew members, or the local train yard where he would watch the freight cars being switched to numerous locomotive’s all day long; being especially fond of trains as he had two uncles who worked for Great Northern Railway.

In 1963 the family moved to Southern California to be closer to family. Ralph had numerous jobs during high school to help support his family and lettered in varsity football during his senior year. He attended Santa Monica City College, staying local so he could help support his family. One day while hitchhiking to work he was picked up by the general manager of the LA Lakers, whose owner had just won the right to the LA Kings. This resulted in Ralph being hired to deliver company mail between their three locations. He also worked in the press box during team games, running the statistics, his “dream job” as he was a real sports fanatic. In 1972, he graduated from Long Beach State University with an accounting and business degree. The first person in either parent’s families to earn a college degree. He joined Arthur Young & Co (now Ernst & Young) and became a CPA shortly after.

Ralph met his future wife, Joyce, during his third year of junior college, and being completely infatuated with her, they were married in June 1971. He adopted her son, Bill and several years later their twin daughters, Karen and Christina, were born.

After leaving public accounting, Ralph had an amazing career working in Finance for a Fortune 500 company and then worked his way down the corporate ladder; serving as CFO for several small manufacturers and ultimately the CEO of one of them. He assisted numerous financially troubled companies with successful regeneration and ultimately acquired one and led it to great success and founded a second one that manufactured truck and SUV suspension lift products.

After his daughters left for college, he bought his first Corvette and became a member of the Rose City Corvette Club and later a member of the Bridge City Corvette Club. He always said he would be buried in his night race blue 2013 Grand Sport Corvette. He once drove a previously owned Corvette on Interstate 10 through the barren desert of New Mexico at 167 MPH.

When Ralph was nearing retirement he met Deacon Jim Pittman, who was doing work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He immediately helped solicit donations of food, building and school supplies, and furniture that were loaded on a shipping container from Portland to Kinshasa, DRC for the benefit of orphans at a school that was being built. In 2014 he joined Jim in the Congo for a month-long mission and again for another month the following year. He later served as a Board member of Reverend Jim’s Education Fund and will be remembered for his unbelievable giving to the Kinshasa school and children, and other orphans in Congo and Dominican Republic.

A proud Rotarian for over 35 years, Ralph was a member and past President of the Reno Rotary Club and later the Clackamas Rotary Club where he served as President in 2001. In 2018, he and fellow Rotarian, Bob Johnson, traveled to Gambia to ensure a Rotary grant was properly spent. They worked with a Gambian group to provide an emergency power generator, and various building improvement supplies to upgrade the Gambian maternity hospital.

In 2025, Ralph and Joyce travelled to Paris to celebrate their 55h Wedding Anniversary; accompanied by their son, Bill and his wife, Susan. They went on numerous “castle wall climbs” and long walks to view various historic sites. Ralph felt he was at the top of his health. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer. Nearing the end of a five-month journey of chemotherapy, Ralph and Joyce realized it was time to “give back” more towards helping people in need. They worked with the wonderful director and staff of the Cancer Center at Providence Willamette Falls Hospital to develop and expand the Food Pantry, providing staples for those who were unable to continue their employment during treatment. They also worked with Clackamas Rotary Foundation and Club to develop a tax-deductible educational endowment fund to provide scholarships to graduating high school students planning to attend community college or trade school, who had to work during high school to help support their families. Ralph and Joyce recently awarded scholarships to three students.

Ralph is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joyce; children, Bill and wife, Susan, Karen, and Christina and husband, Josh; grandchildren, Kevin and Noah; sister, Patricia and husband, Tom; brother, Donald Jr. and wife, Shari; and nieces and nephews.

A Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be 10:30 a.m., and Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m., Friday, October 23, 2026, at St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church, 18211 S Henrici Rd, Oregon City OR 97045, with a reception immediately after the Mass.

The family suggests contribution in his memory be made to the Clackamas Rotary Foundation, designated for the Carter Endowment Fund.