Thomas J. Carter III, known by those who loved him as Spike, passed peacefully from his Earthly home into Heaven on Saturday, May 24, 2014.
Spike was born on October 2, 1983, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Fayetteville, NC, to Patty and Thomas J. Carter, Jr. He came into this world weighing 8lbs and 10 oz., fists in the air, rearing to go! He attended elementary school on Cliffdale Road and loved to participate in all the "family days" with the 7th Special Forces Group to which his father was assigned.
In 1989 the family moved to Niceville, FL, and quickly settled in. He attended Niceville schools, where he was involved in baseball and soccer and excelled at skateboarding.
Throughout his youth his main love continued to be the "military" and doing all he could to emulate his father. In 1992 Spike moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father and stepmother. He loved the area and enjoyed snowboarding, hiking, and river trips with his family. He was most excited when he got a baby brother and was no longer considered the baby of the family. He also loved his dog Arthur, whom he pestered to no end playing fetch.
Spike moved back home to Niceville in 1997. He was eager to learn to drive a car so that he could go to the beach and enjoy all the water sports the area offered. He and his friends spent endless hours at Big Kahunas, canoeing down the Blackwater River, and boating at Crab Island.
After graduating high school, Spike completed Army Basic Training and officially became Private Thomas J. Carter III. He loved weapons and excelled on the range. He was assigned to the Third Infantry Division and served our country proudly for four years. After his enlistment he returned to Niceville before moving to St. Petersburg, FL to begin a position with the VA Regional Office at Bay Pines. Spike loved helping other veterans. He believed in going over and above to assist them in receiving benefits. He also loved the camaraderie of working with other veterans.
In December 2011 he participated in his first "Tough Mudder" event. He achieved his goal and was invited to participate in the "World's Toughest Mudder" in 2012. This was the beginning of a new passion in his life for which he eagerly trained.
On June 13, 2013 at exactly 12:42 p.m. his life was forever changed. With a gigantic smile on his face, he held up his newborn baby daughter, Ava Marie, for all the family to see. He once said, "I never knew that I could love anyone this much, and I never thought anyone could love me as much as she does." He embraced fatherhood, not even letting grandma change a diaper.
Spike was blessed with a loving family, and a mother who adored him. He was a loyal and faithful friend to those who knew him and will forever live in our hearts.
Spike was preceded in death by his father, MSG Thomas J. Carter, Jr., his maternal grandparents Reese and Lucille Grimes of Glennville, GA; his paternal grandparents Alice and Thomas J. Carter, Sr. of Daleville, AL.
He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Patty and Steve Mixon of Niceville, FL; sister, Bridget Gay of Ft Walton Beach, FL; sister and brother in law, Lindsay and John Lynch of St Petersburg, FL; brother, Richard Carter of Portland, OR; daughter, Ava Carter and her mother, Dawn Crippen of St. Petersburg, FL; along with several uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Anderson-McQueen Chapel, St. Petersburg, FL, with a celebration of life following. He will be interred with full military honors on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at 10:45 a.m. at Bay Pines National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to Wounded Warriors Project.
Anderson McQueen FH
Spike was born on October 2, 1983, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Fayetteville, NC, to Patty and Thomas J. Carter, Jr. He came into this world weighing 8lbs and 10 oz., fists in the air, rearing to go! He attended elementary school on Cliffdale Road and loved to participate in all the "family days" with the 7th Special Forces Group to which his father was assigned.
In 1989 the family moved to Niceville, FL, and quickly settled in. He attended Niceville schools, where he was involved in baseball and soccer and excelled at skateboarding.
Throughout his youth his main love continued to be the "military" and doing all he could to emulate his father. In 1992 Spike moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father and stepmother. He loved the area and enjoyed snowboarding, hiking, and river trips with his family. He was most excited when he got a baby brother and was no longer considered the baby of the family. He also loved his dog Arthur, whom he pestered to no end playing fetch.
Spike moved back home to Niceville in 1997. He was eager to learn to drive a car so that he could go to the beach and enjoy all the water sports the area offered. He and his friends spent endless hours at Big Kahunas, canoeing down the Blackwater River, and boating at Crab Island.
After graduating high school, Spike completed Army Basic Training and officially became Private Thomas J. Carter III. He loved weapons and excelled on the range. He was assigned to the Third Infantry Division and served our country proudly for four years. After his enlistment he returned to Niceville before moving to St. Petersburg, FL to begin a position with the VA Regional Office at Bay Pines. Spike loved helping other veterans. He believed in going over and above to assist them in receiving benefits. He also loved the camaraderie of working with other veterans.
In December 2011 he participated in his first "Tough Mudder" event. He achieved his goal and was invited to participate in the "World's Toughest Mudder" in 2012. This was the beginning of a new passion in his life for which he eagerly trained.
On June 13, 2013 at exactly 12:42 p.m. his life was forever changed. With a gigantic smile on his face, he held up his newborn baby daughter, Ava Marie, for all the family to see. He once said, "I never knew that I could love anyone this much, and I never thought anyone could love me as much as she does." He embraced fatherhood, not even letting grandma change a diaper.
Spike was blessed with a loving family, and a mother who adored him. He was a loyal and faithful friend to those who knew him and will forever live in our hearts.
Spike was preceded in death by his father, MSG Thomas J. Carter, Jr., his maternal grandparents Reese and Lucille Grimes of Glennville, GA; his paternal grandparents Alice and Thomas J. Carter, Sr. of Daleville, AL.
He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Patty and Steve Mixon of Niceville, FL; sister, Bridget Gay of Ft Walton Beach, FL; sister and brother in law, Lindsay and John Lynch of St Petersburg, FL; brother, Richard Carter of Portland, OR; daughter, Ava Carter and her mother, Dawn Crippen of St. Petersburg, FL; along with several uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Anderson-McQueen Chapel, St. Petersburg, FL, with a celebration of life following. He will be interred with full military honors on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at 10:45 a.m. at Bay Pines National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to Wounded Warriors Project.
Anderson McQueen FH
Thomas J. Carter III, known by those who loved him as Spike, passed peacefully from his Earthly home into Heaven on Saturday, May 24, 2014.
Spike was born on October 2, 1983, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Fayetteville, NC, to Patty and Thomas J. Carter, Jr. He came into this world weighing 8lbs and 10 oz., fists in the air, rearing to go! He attended elementary school on Cliffdale Road and loved to participate in all the "family days" with the 7th Special Forces Group to which his father was assigned.
In 1989 the family moved to Niceville, FL, and quickly settled in. He attended Niceville schools, where he was involved in baseball and soccer and excelled at skateboarding.
Throughout his youth his main love continued to be the "military" and doing all he could to emulate his father. In 1992 Spike moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father and stepmother. He loved the area and enjoyed snowboarding, hiking, and river trips with his family. He was most excited when he got a baby brother and was no longer considered the baby of the family. He also loved his dog Arthur, whom he pestered to no end playing fetch.
Spike moved back home to Niceville in 1997. He was eager to learn to drive a car so that he could go to the beach and enjoy all the water sports the area offered. He and his friends spent endless hours at Big Kahunas, canoeing down the Blackwater River, and boating at Crab Island.
After graduating high school, Spike completed Army Basic Training and officially became Private Thomas J. Carter III. He loved weapons and excelled on the range. He was assigned to the Third Infantry Division and served our country proudly for four years. After his enlistment he returned to Niceville before moving to St. Petersburg, FL to begin a position with the VA Regional Office at Bay Pines. Spike loved helping other veterans. He believed in going over and above to assist them in receiving benefits. He also loved the camaraderie of working with other veterans.
In December 2011 he participated in his first "Tough Mudder" event. He achieved his goal and was invited to participate in the "World's Toughest Mudder" in 2012. This was the beginning of a new passion in his life for which he eagerly trained.
On June 13, 2013 at exactly 12:42 p.m. his life was forever changed. With a gigantic smile on his face, he held up his newborn baby daughter, Ava Marie, for all the family to see. He once said, "I never knew that I could love anyone this much, and I never thought anyone could love me as much as she does." He embraced fatherhood, not even letting grandma change a diaper.
Spike was blessed with a loving family, and a mother who adored him. He was a loyal and faithful friend to those who knew him and will forever live in our hearts.
Spike was preceded in death by his father, MSG Thomas J. Carter, Jr., his maternal grandparents Reese and Lucille Grimes of Glennville, GA; his paternal grandparents Alice and Thomas J. Carter, Sr. of Daleville, AL.
He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Patty and Steve Mixon of Niceville, FL; sister, Bridget Gay of Ft Walton Beach, FL; sister and brother in law, Lindsay and John Lynch of St Petersburg, FL; brother, Richard Carter of Portland, OR; daughter, Ava Carter and her mother, Dawn Crippen of St. Petersburg, FL; along with several uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Anderson-McQueen Chapel, St. Petersburg, FL, with a celebration of life following. He will be interred with full military honors on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at 10:45 a.m. at Bay Pines National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to Wounded Warriors Project.
Anderson McQueen FH
Spike was born on October 2, 1983, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Fayetteville, NC, to Patty and Thomas J. Carter, Jr. He came into this world weighing 8lbs and 10 oz., fists in the air, rearing to go! He attended elementary school on Cliffdale Road and loved to participate in all the "family days" with the 7th Special Forces Group to which his father was assigned.
In 1989 the family moved to Niceville, FL, and quickly settled in. He attended Niceville schools, where he was involved in baseball and soccer and excelled at skateboarding.
Throughout his youth his main love continued to be the "military" and doing all he could to emulate his father. In 1992 Spike moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father and stepmother. He loved the area and enjoyed snowboarding, hiking, and river trips with his family. He was most excited when he got a baby brother and was no longer considered the baby of the family. He also loved his dog Arthur, whom he pestered to no end playing fetch.
Spike moved back home to Niceville in 1997. He was eager to learn to drive a car so that he could go to the beach and enjoy all the water sports the area offered. He and his friends spent endless hours at Big Kahunas, canoeing down the Blackwater River, and boating at Crab Island.
After graduating high school, Spike completed Army Basic Training and officially became Private Thomas J. Carter III. He loved weapons and excelled on the range. He was assigned to the Third Infantry Division and served our country proudly for four years. After his enlistment he returned to Niceville before moving to St. Petersburg, FL to begin a position with the VA Regional Office at Bay Pines. Spike loved helping other veterans. He believed in going over and above to assist them in receiving benefits. He also loved the camaraderie of working with other veterans.
In December 2011 he participated in his first "Tough Mudder" event. He achieved his goal and was invited to participate in the "World's Toughest Mudder" in 2012. This was the beginning of a new passion in his life for which he eagerly trained.
On June 13, 2013 at exactly 12:42 p.m. his life was forever changed. With a gigantic smile on his face, he held up his newborn baby daughter, Ava Marie, for all the family to see. He once said, "I never knew that I could love anyone this much, and I never thought anyone could love me as much as she does." He embraced fatherhood, not even letting grandma change a diaper.
Spike was blessed with a loving family, and a mother who adored him. He was a loyal and faithful friend to those who knew him and will forever live in our hearts.
Spike was preceded in death by his father, MSG Thomas J. Carter, Jr., his maternal grandparents Reese and Lucille Grimes of Glennville, GA; his paternal grandparents Alice and Thomas J. Carter, Sr. of Daleville, AL.
He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Patty and Steve Mixon of Niceville, FL; sister, Bridget Gay of Ft Walton Beach, FL; sister and brother in law, Lindsay and John Lynch of St Petersburg, FL; brother, Richard Carter of Portland, OR; daughter, Ava Carter and her mother, Dawn Crippen of St. Petersburg, FL; along with several uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Anderson-McQueen Chapel, St. Petersburg, FL, with a celebration of life following. He will be interred with full military honors on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at 10:45 a.m. at Bay Pines National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to Wounded Warriors Project.
Anderson McQueen FH
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