Gary Carter (1955-2012)
Gary Carter went to heaven today. The baseball Hall of Fame catcher made an impact on the baseball diamond. He was the iconic player for the Montreal Expos and helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series title.
More important than his accomplishments on the field was the impact he made wherever he went. Carter was a long time resident of Palm Beach county where I live. He first arrived here when he played for West Palm Beach in the minor leagues.
Carter was a member of a great church, Christ Fellowship Church. When we first moved to West Palm Beach, we attended this church. A satellite congregation was meeting across the street from where we lived at the time. That first Easter we attended a large church service held at the amphitheater in West Palm. Carter told his story of becoming a follower of Jesus.
As the manager of a hotel near the airport, we provided hospitality to many of the people coming to town for athletic events at Palm Beach Atlantic University. One of my main contacts at the university was the son-in-law of Gary Carter. I remember noting how respectfully his son-in-law spoke of Carter. That told me a great deal about the man.
Carter’s daughter has been the softball coach for PBAU. A few years ago, Carter joined the school as the baseball coach. His last public appearance was attending the season opener for the baseball team. Carter was still head coach, but was unable to perform his duties due to his battle with brain cancer.
The Palm Beach Post has highlighted Carter’s Christian influence in our community in the article out his death today. Here is a quote about Carter from that article.
He will be remembered as a Hall of Fame catcher but also as a guy who was a Hall of Famer for his faith, which I think will help his family get through this.
–Tommy Hutton (Carter’s neighbor and TV analyst for the Miami Marlins)
And this one from another local baseball player.
We’ve always been aware of how remarkable a human being he is. Forget the baseball part of it – we all know he’s a Hall of Fame baseball player. But he’s a Hall of Famer off the field, too. Can you think of anybody other than Jack Nicklaus who has done more for Palm Beach County?
–Jim Palmer (Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher and resident of Palm Beach County)
Carter’s players at PBAU wore Team Carter bracelets with his favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 40:31.
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
As a player, Carter led chapel services in the clubhouse on Sundays. The Gary Carter Foundation has raised over $620,000 to benefit children in our area. Some of the work done by the foundation was in the area of fighting juvenile diabetes and in reading programs.
Thank the Lord for Gary Carter.
