David
R.
McCarter
David R. McCarter, of Millis, MA, passed peacefully on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at the age of 97.
David was born in Boston, MA on March 8, 1926 to Howard and Grace (Howe) McCarter. He was the beloved husband of Beverly (Durfee) McCarter who predeceased him in 2020 and was the loving father of Janice Pennini and her husband Jerry of Millis, Lawrence McCarter and his wife Joanne of Millis and Russell McCarter of Medway. In addition, he was proud to have 5 wonderful grandchildren (Jason, Kenny, Jessica, Tommy and Tyler) and 3 great grandchildren (Nicholas, Ella and Kayla).
At an early age Dave was very interested in taking things apart, figuring out how they worked and, when necessary, getting them working again. He loved everything mechanical and anything that involved electricity. His resourcefulness and do-it-yourselfer skills were talents that proved useful when growing up during the Great Depression, a time when there were shortages of almost everything and nothing was ever throw away. Finding uses for everything and never throwing things away were habits that stuck with him for his entire life. Those who knew him well could easily see this – he always had ‘spare parts’ for all of his projects and a large inventory of things that were far too good to discard.
Just before graduating from Mechanic Arts High School in Boston, at the age of 17, Dave enlisted in the U.S. Navy and immediately after graduation was called into active duty. He proudly served his country from 1943-1946, while stationed aboard minesweepers (the USS Pirate and the USS Trapper) in the American Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. As an electronics technician he was responsible for keeping all electronics on the ship in good working order. When the radar at the top of the mast wasn’t working, he was the one to climb the mast and get it fixed.
After leaving the Navy in 1946, Dave signed up for the reserves and went to work for New England Telephone & Telegraph Company, where he also met his future wife, Beverly. He was called back to active duty in the Korean War, one day before his enlistment in the reserves was set to end. While he was stationed at the naval base in Pearl Harbor, he wrote back home to Beverly, and asked if she would like to get married. She said ‘yes, please send airfare’, he sent money for the plane, she flew to Hawaii and they were married on the Naval base.
Upon discharge from the Navy, Dave purchased land in Millis where he and Beverly built their house, raised their family and lived for about 65 years. Dave secured a new job at the Foxboro Company and was involved in design and trouble shooting of industrial process control equipment. While working at Foxboro, he also earned a degree in Engineering with a focus on electronics from Northeastern University.
Dave was an active leader in the Civil Air Patrol organization and led a squadron of cadets interested in learning about aviation and the military. It was a family affair, with both Larry and Russell also involved. In recent years, Larry invited Dad to join meetings at American Legion Post 208 in Millis. This quickly became a regular weekly outing that Dave looked forward to and enjoyed while getting to know other local veterans and hearing about their military experiences.
After an early retirement from Foxboro, Dave decided to purchase construction equipment and try his skills in the excavation business. It was something he had always wanted to try and it became something he immediately enjoyed. He and Jerry, Dave’s favorite son-in-law, worked together for several years doing driveways, foundation walls, septic tie-ins, drainage projects and more. During that time, they both enjoyed working together and, even better, developed a very strong bond. Dave’s love for big machines wasn’t limited to construction machinery; he also had an affinity for big cars and admired big buses. Prior experience in driving a bus with Civil Air Patrol eventually led to another part-time job driving school buses for the Holmes Bus Company in Norfolk.
Dave was tenacious and always had a ‘never give up’ approach. Early in his life this simply meant he would stick with a problem and work on it endlessly, until it was fixed to his satisfaction. Much later in life, when vision and mobility problems were bothering him, he continued with the ‘never give up’ philosophy by still having fun working on his favorite machine, testing out a newly acquired tool or gadget or walking to places where his legs were really too tired to go!
We have lost a special person who was definitely part of the ‘greatest generation ever’. He was driven by a strong work ethic and patriotism and had his own unique style and set of skills for getting things accomplished. We will miss him greatly.
Visiting hours will be at Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home, 15 Miller St. Medfield, MA 02052 on Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 4:00-7:00 PM. Burial will be private at a later date.
If desired, donations in David’s name can be made to the BrightFocus Foundation for research on macular degeneration and eye health. (BrightFocus Foundation 22512 Gateway Center Drive Clarksburg, Maryland 20871 or online at https://www.brightfocus.org/macular)