The Honorable Clayton Cann Carter

The Honorable Clayton Cann Carter, 92, retired Circuit Court Judge, of Centreville, MD, ,was born October 15 1918, in Centreville, MD the son of the late William H. and Olivia Cann Carter. Judge Carter attended the public schools in Centreville and graduated from the Centreville High School in 1935, after which he entered Trinity College of Duke University and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1939. The following fall he matriculated at the University of Maryland School of Law, but, after completion of his second year, he volunteered for induction in the U. S. Army on August 7, 1941. After completing cryptography courses at the Signal Corps School at Fort Monmouth, NJ, he embarked on January 12, 1942 from San Francisco aboard the troop ship President Coolidge to Australia. He served in the China, Burma, and India Theatre with the 835th Signal Service Battalion until he returned to the states on July 18, 1944. After he completed Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Signal Corps with the U.S. Army. He reentered the School of Law in the fall of 1945 graduated on June 8, 1946, passing the Maryland Bar in July of that same year. He joined the law firm of Marshall, All, Carey, and Doub in Baltimore City as an associate and remained with them until he returned to Centreville and opened his law office in early May 1947. He served with the Maryland National Guard from 1947 until 1949. In 1950, he was elected State’s Attorney for Queen Anne’s County. He served as Queen Anne’s County Commissioner from 1954 until 1958 when he resumed the full time practice of law. In June of 1971, he was appointed by then Governor Marvin Mandel as Associate Judge of the newly created District Court of Maryland. Chief Judge Hammond of the Court of Appeals appointed him Administrative Judge of the Third District, comprising the counties of Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and Caroline. Judge Carter served on the District Court until Acting Governor Blair Lee appointed him as Associate Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, taking the oath of office on November 24, 1978. He was elected without opposition in 1980 to a full term and qualified on December 1, 1980. On May 29, 1987, he became the Chief Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit and retired on his 70th birthday, October 15, 1988. He married Henrietta McKenney Holton on July 17, 1946, and they divorced in April of 1963. There were two daughters born of that marriage, Marcia Goldsborough Carter Mason and her husband Charles and Nancy Biddle Carter Middaugh and her husband, Roger, both of whom reside in Virginia. On July 29, 1967, he married Carol Ann Weber, and they had one daughter, Rachel MacDonough Carter Goss whom resides in Chestertown with her husband, Steve. He is also survived by his granddaughter, Ryan Mason Hill and her husband, Lee; and grandsons, Steven Christopher Goss and Zachary Carter Goss. He has been an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Centreville having served several terms on the Vestry and one year as Senior Warden. Judge Carter is a long-time member of the Queen Anne’s County and Second Judicial Circuit Bar Association, having served as President of both. He served as Vice President and on the executive council with the Maryland State Bar Association and was one of the original directors of both that Association and the Maryland Bar Foundation Inc. Other memberships include the American Judicature Society , American Bar Association, American College of Trust and Estate Council, Upper Eastern Shore Chapter of the Maryland Retired Officers Association, National Eagle Scouts Association, Del-Mar-Va council of the Boy Scouts of America, Delta Tau Delta, the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of the War of 1812, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Jefferson Davis American Legion Post #18, The American Legion, Grasonville Memorial Post #7464, V.F.W., and Corsica River Yacht Club where he served twice as Commodore. He is also a fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation, American College of Probate Counsel, and American College of Trial Lawyers. He has lived since 1949 on his ancestral farm estate “Chesterfield” in Centreville, formerly belonging to the Clayton, Nicholson, and Newnam families. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, August 7, 2011, at 1 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Centreville. Relatives and friends are invited to a visitation on Saturday, August 6, at Chesterfield, the family’s home at 408 Chesterfield Ave. Centreville, MD 21617 from 6 to 8 p.m. Interment will be held in Chesterfield Cemetery in Centreville. Memorials may be made to a worthy charity or church of your choice or to the Del-Mar-Va Council Inc., Boy Scouts of America #81, 100 West 10th St., Suite 915,Wilmington, DE 19801, as always deserving of support, for in the welfare of our young people rests the hopes of our nation.

The Honorable Clayton Cann Carter

October 15, 1918 - July 30, 2011