Marietta Ward McCarter, widow of Robert Bruce Bill McCarter, departed this life on July 29, 2013. Visitation will be held July 30 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Roberts, III, at 525 First Street South. A graveside service will be held July 31 at 9:30 a.m. in Friendship Cemetery with Dr. Shawn Parker officiating. Memorial Funeral Home is in charge of her arrangements. Mrs. McCarter was born August 22, 1917, in Houston, Mississippi, to the late Rufus Alexander Ward, Sr., and Mary Etta Huffman Ward. In 1921, she moved to Columbus with her family. In 1942, she wed Robert Bruce Bill McCarter, and they were married 65 years until his death in 2007. She is survived by one sister, Margaret Ward Faris, of Columbus, and predeceased by their five siblings, Nannie Kate Ward Smith, Naomi Ward Moody, Ralph Rogers Ward, Lucian Alexander Ward, and Rufus Alexander Ward. Mrs. McCarter was a graduate of S.D. Lee High School in Columbus and Wylie Business College in Memphis, Tennessee. She worked for the American Red Cross in the Field Directors Office at Columbus Air Force Base during World War II and then was employed by the Columbus City Schools for 21 years. Since her husbands death, she maintained his farming interests in Lee County. She joined First Baptist Church after she moved to Columbus and remained a member throughout her life. She was a member of the Bernard Romans Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of the Descendants of George Washingtons Army at Valley Forge. In addition to her sister, survivors include her daughter, Mary Kate McCarter Roberts; son-in-law, William E. Roberts, III; granddaughter, Mary Margaret Roberts; grandson, Porter McCarter Roberts; sister-in-law, Mrs. Rufus Ward; sister-in-law, Mrs. Archie Thomason of Tupelo; and a number of nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers are Frank Faris, Jr.; Kenneth Holditch; Rufus Ward; Ike McCarter; Joe McCarter; John William Rice; Tommy Moody; Judson Ward; Lucian Ward, Jr.; Hal McClanahan, III; Jan McClanahan; and Mac McCarty. The family would like to thank Mary Frances Glass for her many years of dedicated service and Pam Spurgin, Joanne Kidd, and the staff at the Arrington for their assistance. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Baptist Childrens Village, Post Office Box 27, Clinton, MS, 39060, or to a charity of the donors choice.
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