John Kent Carter
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — John Kent Carter, 73, of Norman, went peacefully to the Lord with his family at his side on Monday, March 24, 2014, in Norman.
He was the first of five children born to parents John M. and Florence Carter in El Reno. The family later moved to Wichita, Kan. At 14, in 1954, he got his first Armature Radio Operators license W5LGO. He graduated from Wichita East High in 1958. In high school, he served in the National Guard. He pursued his continuing education in Wichita College and Anderson College in Indiana, completing his BS in math and physics from Central State College. He continued on pursuing his master’s in electronic engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
In 1959, John moved to Oklahoma City and began working for the Federal Aviation Administration as an electronics technician. In that year, he met Delrene, his wife, at Czech Hall in Yukon. After two years of dating, they were married in Oklahoma City at Christ the King Church. John and Delrene resided in Oklahoma City and had three children; two sons, John and Michael, and one daughter, Cathy. In 1975, they moved to Norman, where they have resided since.
John began working for National Severe Storms Lab in Norman in 1966 as an electronics engineer. He often said how very lucky he was in that he loved his work. The technical design electronics engineering work he did at the lab was very challenging and exciting to him. Although he didn’t point it out to people, he was part of a very special group of research engineers that implemented the first Doppler weather radar in the world, ever. The pride he took in simply knowing he was part of that history was satisfaction enough. He retired from NSSL officially the first time in 1996. He continued work part-time until 2013. He enjoyed the challenging and exciting work on the new mobile radars and other advancing radar-related projects.
His life-long hobby was HAM radio operator. He also greatly enjoyed the great outdoors and being out in nature. He and wife, Delrene, purchased some land in the country and, for more than 40 years, enjoyed countless memories with family and friends at “Stoney Oaks Farm — a place respite.”
Remaining family are loving wife, Delrene Carter, NS children John C. Carter, Michael Carter and Cathy Smith. The couple have three grandchildren, Hannah, John Tyler and Kirsten Carter and four great-grandchildren. He took great pride in being a grandparent. He was a caring grandpa to all. Always giving encouragement to all to strive to do their best and good things will naturally happen.