Harvey Louis Carter's Obituary
Harvey was born at home in Greenwood, Arkansas on May 18, 1932 to Emily and T.A. Carter. His parents owned about 640 acres of land. They raised cattle and had a trucking farm, raising watermelon, cantaloupe and other garden produce. Ft. Chaffee came in and purchased the family land. Then the Carter family – Dad, Mom, Agnes, Malla, Tom and Harvey – moved 4 miles out of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, making their home on 240 acres, where they raised cattle. One of the jobs Harvey and his brother Tom had, was to carry water to the house from the well. Their mom cooked on a wood stove. Their dad bought a more modern house and moved it to the property. Water was plumbed to the house and the boys didn’t have to carry water anymore. Eventually they also had electric hooked to the house. The boys had horses and liked to ride them. One of the memories that gave Harvey a laugh would be when Tom tried to ride Harvey’s horse, it would throw him. Then there was the story about the three aunts who lived on the property and they loved to make sugar cookies for the boys. The aunts would say, “Go in and get you a cookie” and they would come out holding one cookie up after having filled their pockets full. For enjoyment, the boys had to make their own toys; they even made their own four wheel carts.Harvey met Maggie Risenhoover at Central High School outside of Sallisaw and married soon after graduating. After working at a furniture factory in Ft. Smith, Harvey’s oldest brother Malla took him to California and taught him auto body work. Maggie wanted to join Harvey in California. After Tom was discharged from the army, he took them out there. When their son was old enough to go to school, they moved back to Tulsa. Their daughter, Kathie, was born in Sallisaw. Several years later they moved to Mannford. He and Maggie enjoyed square dancing and watching their daughter play basketball. Harvey spent time fishing and coon hunting with his son. Harvey and Tom did a lot of coon hunting around Terlton and by the lake.Two years after Harvey and Maggie divorced, in 1979 while at square dancing lessons, he met Beverly A. Wiley. They dated a couple of years and the relationship between Harvey and Beverly grew stronger. Beverly’s sons were getting ready to leave home – John getting married and Ron joining the Navy. Harvey decided to ask Beverly to marry him. They married on November 2, 1981 and have been married for 32 years. For their honeymoon, they traveled to Corpus Christi and spent time with Beverly’s parents sight seeing and fishing the inner coastal canal area. They also took a day trip to Old Mexico. They made their home in the Catoosa area. Beverly and Harvey have spent their time working, camping, traveling, fishing and family time. They have traveled several times to Henderson, Nevada to visit his oldest brother and do some sight seeing at the Casinos in Las Vegas.Harvey liked to play practical jokes on people. If you weren’t paying attention, he would quietly come up behind you and loudly clap his hands. He got a big kick, watching that person jump several feet into the air.He enjoyed nature. He liked to watch deer, hummingbirds, and coyotes as they passed through his yard. His arch enemies were blackbirds and squirrels because they kept getting into the sunflower seeds that he intended for birds.Harvey enjoyed working in his garden, working the land with his hands. With his green thumb, he produced lots of vegetables which him and Beverly would can and preserve. One time, Harvey and Beverly traveled back to the homestead in Arkansas and dug up one the rose bushes his mother had planted and transplanted it at their home in Catoosa. It is now a huge rosebush.We will miss his practical jokes, his humor, his laughter. The family will miss hearing stories about his childhood days.He is survived by his wife, 3 sons, 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, a brother, nieces, in-laws, and other members of the family who live in Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, a brother, and a daughter.
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