Roderic Walter Cartier died August 21, 2010 at Tryon Estates, 10 days shy of his 93rd birthday. He was born August 31, 1917 in Burlington, Vt., the eldest son of Walter Joseph Cartier and Pearl Melissa Smithers.&bsp; Walter was educated in the Charlotte, N.C., public schools, Mars Hill College, and the University of North Carolina. He taught in York, S.C., and Wadesboro and Hickory, N.C., where he was a band director.

During WWII he served as first lieutenant with the Civil Air Patrol and flight instructor with the U.S. Army Air Corps.

After the war, he moved with his wife and daughter to Illinois as chamber of commerce executive in West Frankfort and Carmi. In 1953 he moved to Murray, Ky., as agency manager with State Farm Insurance Companies and was soon moved to Knoxville, Tenn. In 1959 he was promoted to the regional office of State Farm Insurance Companies in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as the companys first regional director of training and education.

Walter retired from State Farm and built his home in Ft. Myers Beach, Fla., in 1975 and immediately became active in civic and church affairs. He was the first president of the Beach Voters Association and served three years in this organization dedicated to the betterment of the beach. He also served on the Lee County Planning Commission and the County Infrastructure Task Force.

After spending 18 years of retirement in Ft. Myers Beach, the Cartiers returned to his first wifes hometown of Hopkinsville, Ky., where they founded and he was president of the Christian County Genealogical Society. While in Hopkinsville, he was a member of First United Methodist Church and taught an adult Sunday school class. In 1997 they moved to Tryon Estates to be closer to their daughter, Fran Creasy. At Tryon Estates the Cartiers also helped organize a genealogical society.

Walter is survived by his wife of 7 years, Nina Jillson Cartier; his daughter, Fran Cartier Creasy (Al) of Tryon; two granddaughters, Elaine Creasy Grella (Tom) of Arden, N.C., and Melinda Creasy (Steve Fitzgerald) of Naperville, Ill.; seven great grandchildren; two stepsons, (the Revs. Andrew and Edward Jillson); five step-grandchildren; a brother, Bruce Cartier (Marjorie) of Wilmington, N.C., and many nieces and nephews.

Walter (or Roddy, as he was known to his family) was a 32nd degree Mason, a Shriner, president and past lieutenant governor of Kiwanis International for Tenn., and served as an instructor in the U.S. Power Squadron in Fla. He became an Eagle Scout in 1935 and was a member of the National Eagle Scout Association. Wherever he lived, he served his church as a Bible teacher for more than 50 years, and served on many church committees. His love was the choir which he directed for a number of years and in which he sang as a member for many more. He was dedicated to his church and community work.

He loved travel and visited all the 50 states and many foreign countries. The trip to the Holy Land and Egypt in 1994 was his favorite.

Walter was preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife of 64 years, Adelaide Linton Cartier; and his sister, Elaine Cartier Creasy.

Memorials may be made to Tryon Presbyterian Church, 430 Harmon Field Road, Tryon, N.C. 28782. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 3 p.m. at Tryon Presbyterian Church.McFarland Funeral Chapel, Tryon.