Obituary of Shelby Carter

Funeral services for Shelby G. Carter are scheduled for 10 AM Tuesday, August 15, 2023, in the chapel of Golden Funeral Home with Bro. Casey Johnson officiating. Interment will follow in Bonita Road Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 5 PM - 7 PM at Golden’s. On Thursday, August 10, 2023, Shelby Gene Carter of Bastrop made his final trip to be with the Lord. Shelby was born in Holly Ridge, LA, on April 6, 1939, in a cotton house to Carlos Charlie “CC” Carter and Martish Fife Carter. Shelby was the youngest of three children. He has two older sisters, Joy DeBlieux and June Craig. The family relocated to the Old Bonita Road when he was ten years old. Shelby attended Bastrop High School and graduated in 1958. During his teenage years, Shelby enjoyed boxing, racing cars, and dancing. He had a lifelong dream of being a professional dancer. He was the master of the funky chicken, jitterbug, and he could do the splits. He passed his memorable dance moves onto his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. After graduating from Bastrop High, Shelby started working at International Paper Company in the lab. He was notorious for depicting any mishaps or jokes that happened at the mill with his drawings. His works could often be found at Brister’s Barber Shop. Shelby drew several covers for International Paper’s quarterly newsletter, the Hullabaloo. He also painted backdrops for many school dances. In 1975, Shelby married the love of his life, Kathryn. His love for her was well known by anybody with ears because he loved to talk about her. When he wasn’t trying to coax kisses out of her, he was making her laugh or blush. After they married, they blended their large family of seven kids, moved to Log Cabin, and there was never another dull moment. Shelby and Kathryn would take weekend getaways until their grandkids were born. Then their favorite place became their loud home full of kids, chaos, and love. In 1983, after twenty-five years, Shelby retired from the paper mill and turned his love of drawing into a business. He opened Shelby Carter Sign Co. and began hand painting and lettering signs for local businesses. Kathryn kept the books, and Shelby made the signs. He grew and modernized over the years with the help of his son, Carl who still runs his company today. His signs, old and new, can still be seen all over North Louisiana and South Arkansas. When he wasn’t working, he could be found playing music. Shelby would sing and play bass. He played with bands at McVay’s Country Music Hall, the American Legion, the Moose Lodge, nursing homes, and living rooms across Morehouse Parish. Shelby loved all types of music from Merle Haggard to Percy Sledge to ZZ Top. If it had a good beat, he loved it. He would make his kids transcribe the words to songs off the radio so he could learn them to sing at his shows. His grandchildren grew up singing along and dancing to his band in his living room on Shelby Drive. Shelby loved to deer hunt and was a fifty-four-year member of the Tomerlin Hunting Club in Hamburg, Arkansas. He took hunting trips to Colorado, Wyoming, Mexico, and Texas, where he killed deer and antelope. He would always come back with a big kill and a tall tale about the bigger one that got away. He passed his love of all things hunting and outdoors to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Shelby loved to play golf and tennis. He always had a joke to tell and a smile on his face. He loved to play pranks on anybody he could get one over on. He had a deep love for all of his friends and family, and he never met a stranger. Up until the end of his days, Shelby was showered with love by his family. Shelby went to be with his Heavenly Father on Thursday, August 10, 2023. He is preceded in death by his parents, CC and Martish Carter; his daughter, Camille Horton Malta; and daughter-in-law, Terri Wright Horton. Left to cherish his loving memories are his wife of 48 years, Kathryn Carter; children, Debbie Jenkins (Bill), Sheila Pearson (Terry), Sandra Vance, Karen Horton Carter (George), Carl Horton, Cheryl Clark (Dennis); 13 grandchildren, Patches Seely (Mike), Brandon Pace (Shari), Jessica Bennett, Matt Carter (Lacie), Ashley Rayborn (Clayton), Jonathan Clark, Whitney Carter, Hillary Cunningham (Seth), Megan Malta, Sarah Horton, and Alex Clark; 9 great-grandchildren, William Jenkins, Jr., Savannah and Shyanne Mitchell, Layla Capurso, Caden Hickman and Addison Carter, Zoie and Elliot Cunningham, and Isabella Gray; and a beloved and loyal dog, Dixie. Serving as pallbearers will be Dennis Clark, Bruce Craig, Larry DeBlieux, George Lawrence, Terry Pearson, and Lee Tuttle. Honorary pallbearers will be his grandsons as well as Jerry Wolfe, David Evans, and Nickey Ezell. Shelby was a member of Bonita Road Baptist Church. The family would like to thank Brother Casey Johnson, Premier Hospice, and the staff of Cherry Ridge Skilled Nursing Facility. Memorial contributions may be made to the Morehouse Humane Society at 6878 Mer Rouge Rd, Bastrop, LA 71220.