Susan (Susie) Carter

Susie went home to be with Jesus, her Lord and Savior, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, at home as a result of a heart attack. She was 59 years old.

Susie was born Aug. 8, 1956, to Marcus and Ilene (Pederson) Flerchinger in Pomeroy. Susie was the second of four children, who included sisters Marcie and Debbie, as well as a brother named Mike. She grew up on the family farm, attending school in Clarkston and Pomeroy. She graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1974.

After spending a year in California, she returned home and enrolled in Walla Walla Community College. She graduated in 1977 with an associate degree in her destined career of nursing, a career that exemplified her character, as she was a loving and caring person.

She worked at University Hospital in Seattle and Deaconess in Spokane as a licensed practical nurse upon graduation until she returned to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley in 1980. There, she met Mark Carter, forming an instant and lifelong bond. After their second date, Mark proposed, and the two were married May 2, 1981.

The couple's first son, Ryan, was born in 1985. Ryan was followed by a little brother named Joseph, who was born in 1989. After her children were born, she decided that she would put nursing on hold to be a stay-at-home mom. To her, a woman who gave her all to her children, it was her most important career. The love and kindness she showered her children with would allow them to grow into men instilled with the same qualities they were raised with. During this time she was active in the church, Faith Tabernacle, and influenced many people's lives there.

Susie re-entered the nursing field in 2001, after her children were far enough into school. She worked as an LPN at Life Care Center, where she cared for the sick and elderly. A person who valued continuing education, Susie went back to school and received her bachelor's degree in nursing, achieving her lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse. Her career continued at Clarkston Care Center, which was followed by the final job she occupied, that of a home health and hospice nurse for Elite Home Health and Hospice, formerly known as Tri-State Home Health and Hospice. Susie found her life's calling working in hospice, where her kind and loving personality brought comfort to those with terminal illnesses as well as their families.

Susie is survived by her husband, Mark Carter; oldest son, Ryan Carter; youngest son, Joseph Carter; and Ryan's fiancee, Ashley Pegram. Further survivors are her father, Marcus Flerchinger; sisters Marcie Thomas and Debbie Flerchinger; her brother, Mike Flerchinger and Mike's fiancee Lisbeth Randall; her best friend, Lori Lookabill; and 13 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Illene Flerchinger; her brother-in-law, Jim Thomas; and her grandparents.

A memorial service for Susie Carter will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at The House of Faith. The service will be officiated by Herb Boreson of Gateway Church and Greg Pedersen of The House of Faith. A reception will follow the service. The family wishes to extend its deepest gratitude for the outpouring of support from the Gateway Church and The House of Faith family, the Elite Home Health and Hospice community, as well as all those whose lives have been touched by Susie. Death may dim the light she radiated with throughout her life, but the warmth she imbued those around her with will never be lost. She lives on in the lives of all those she touched.