John Henry Carter, Jr.

John Henry Carter Jr., was born at home in Leesburg, Georgia on June 5th ,1951, to the late Eva Mae (Robinson) and SFC John H. Carter Sr. John was the first born of 8 children and was warmly known as "Todd (pronounced Tot)" a name given to him by his grandfather Clarence Robinson. John valued his brothers and sisters as his own, and never really had time to be a child himself while helping his mother care for them when his father was away in Vietnam.

Throughout his school career John excelled at sports such as basketball, football and baseball; he was also a lover of art and poetry. Although he attended schools in Germany, John graduated from Monroe Comprehensive High School in Albany, GA in 1970.

After Graduating, John joined the United States Airforce ranking as Sargent and worked as an Airforce policeman in Bangkok, Thailand. While in the Airforce, he would be later stationed at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base where a series of unforeseen encounters allowed him to meet the love of his life.

In April 1973, he was united in holy matrimony with his wife Ronda. This coalition of awesomeness produced one amazing daughter.

Even back when love didn't cost a thing, the rent was still due; so, after the Airforce, John went to work for Buckeye Steel as a Security officer. A time later, with a loving wife and that amazing baby, he heard the Columbus City Fire Department was offering jobs to men who looked like him; John took a leap of faith and went for it. That faithful leap became a rewarding 28-year career and yielded him a band of brothers and sisters that he loved tremendously.

While we are certain he would have loved to stay longer; on April 12th, 2018, John Henry Carter Jr. breathed his soul away into his Savior's arms. Waiting for John on the other side are his parents Eva Mae and John H. Carter Sr., his siblings, James, William, Christine, Christopher, and Glenn Carter and his niece, Chauntá Serrano.

His absolutely brave and beautiful life will be forever cherished by his magnificent wife of 45 years Ronda L. Carter, His daughter Brooklynn (Terell) Davis, his even more amazing grandchildren Abeni, Rain and Gavyn Davis, his outstanding siblings Flormargarita (Jimmy) Lilly, Melendez (Carmencita) Carter; his close friend and brother Jesse N. Robinson and a wealth of uncles, aunts, nieces', nephews and cousins all of which he adored very much.

The family will receive friends from 11 a.m., Thursday, April 19, 2018 until the time of the service at 12 p.m., at New Salem Baptist Church, 2956 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH., 43224.

To express condolences to the Carter family in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Firefighters 4 Kids c/o CME Federal Credit Union 365 S. 4th St. Columbus, OH 43215, in the memory of John H. Carter Jr.