The angels sang, and perhaps even laughed a little on January 16th, 2015, as Heaven welcomed home a smiling soul. The ravages of illness yielded to the strong spirit of James D. Carter as he broke free from the frailties of the flesh, passing peacefully from this life to the next with his family at his side.

Jim Carter was born to D.P. and Jane Carter on June 19th, 1940. A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana and the youngest of two children, he enjoyed a lifelong love affair with music, first by playing trumpet and serving as drum major at Lake Charles High School where there was no melody that he could not, and would not, jazz up.

A US Army veteran, and an alumnus of Louisiana State University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Jim spent 37 years as a Minister of Music, imbuing children, youth and adults with an appreciation of music as a universal language capable of lifting the human spirit in praise to the Author of life and love.

From Baton Rouge, Louisiana to McCaysville, Georgia, from Valdosta, Georgia to the Florida panhandle and throughout the Atlanta area, he led choirs, taught voice, and conducted orchestras, enabling people of all ages to discover and develop talents and potential yet untapped. Whether it was organizing choir tours that took youth groups to sing and minister throughout the US and into Canada, or conducting adult cantatas and presentations, his influence touched countless lives over the years, even as his lively spirit brought limitless smiles.

In 1996, Jim and his wife Mari traveled to Germany with the Sons of Jubal, a men's chorus composed exclusively of ministers of music from the Georgia Baptist Convention. There, he sang and played trumpet in the Jubal Brass, later recounting the exquisite joy of playing Handel's Water Music while cruising down the Rhine River, the thrill of playing Bach in the magnificent cathedral in Cologne, and the deeply moving experience of people openly weeping when the Sons of Jubal filled an ancient church in what had been East Germany with sacred music which had for decades been banned by communist party officials.

Precious little could surpass his love of music, with the exception of his love of family and his unbridled enjoyment of laughter. Music, after all, is rivaled only by laughter as a universal language, and Jim was a cheerful virtuoso in both expressions. Whether it was a choir rehearsal, a family gathering, or anything in between, any occasion that featured Jim Carter included as much laughter as anything else.

A few years ago, when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl, someone mentioned to him that the gumbo would be overflowing in the French Quarter, prompting another gentleman of northern descent to confess that he didn't know how to make gumbo. To chuckles of approval, Jim replied, "Well, if you hadn't won the war, we would have taught you!"

The sudden loss of his wife of 34 years in 2013, dealt a crushing blow to Jim, however, and the grief was permanent. Surrounded by family and friends in his final days, his soul made the trip home though the music of his spirit lives on in his surviving family members which include his son, Dave Carter of Memphis, Tennessee, and his daughters, Robbie Cutler Hysong of Panama City, Florida, and Janet Tibbitts of Vinton, Louisiana; six grandchildren, Benjamin Carter, Christie Pennington, Case Cutler, Katherine Tibbitts, Ryan Tibbitts, and Rebecca Tibbitts; and one great grandson, Daniel Pennington.

The family will receive visitors on Friday, January 23rd, from 7-9 PM at Wilson Funeral Home in Panama City. Graveside services will be held at 10 AM Saturday, January 24th, at Callaway Cemetery. Those desiring may make memorial donations to Covenant Hospice, 107 w. 19th St., Panama City, FL 32405, in memory of Jim Carter.