Leah Maria Carter

Born January 1st, 1947, in Wheeling, West Virginia and passed peacefully from this life into the arms of God and her late husband (Lavon Carter) on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. She was a devoted Christian Wife, Mother, Nana, Sister and Friend whose life was defined by service, hospitality and faith. She graduated Warwood High School in 1964 with honors, receiving the Explorer Award and the DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) Verterans Scholarship. She was a member of the Warwood Warrior Yearbook and writing staff and an active member of the Warwood High Marching Band where she played the baritone saxophone. She continued her love and talent for music at Harding University where she was a member of the marching band and met the love of her life, Lavon Carter, in her first semester of college. During Christmas break of the same year, 1964, Lavon proposed to her on a Greyhound bus on the way back to school for their Second Semester. They had a whirlwind short engagement of only three weeks. They were married on January 24th, 1965, at Westside Church of Christ in Searcy. Their love story spanned almost a half of a century and produced five daughters and carried them through five states and countless adventures while following Lavon’s career with The Washington Post. 1976 found them back at their alma mater with Lavon teaching at Harding and Leah working with food services. They had a true partnership built on love, faith and steadfast devotion to each other and the Lord. Leah spent her life caring for others, she found joy in her kitchen cooking for her family, neighbors and anyone needing a warm meal. She found a purpose in sharing her love of nature and flowers by making arrangements by hand to take to those who were sick, grieving, or simply in need of encouragement. She is survived in life by four daughters, Lisa (Brad) Deslatte, Laura (Todd) Jones, Latina (Frank) Reaper and Lacinda (Charles) Anderson; Seventeen Grandchildren, the apple of her eyes, Katie (Trent) Allender-Harris, Cody (Whitney) Allender, Michael and Nicholas Deslatte, Cheyanne (Jacob) Brink, Jessica (Austin) Evans, Sawyer Jones, John Davis, Joshua Jordan, Tyler (Allison) Jordan, Garrett Reaper, Joshua (Molly) Reaper, Parker (Olivia) Thomas, Zack (Barbara) Anderson, Brady (Savannah) Anderson, and Hunter, Blakely and Courtney Anderson. Twenty-two beautiful and loved Great-Grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Linda (Skip) Gooch; and nephew, Adam (Maggie) Gooch; Neice, Wendy (Vernon) Bailey. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Lavon Wilson Carter who passed in 2014, and her eldest Daughter and son-in-law Ladonna and Dave Allender. She will be remembered for her warm kitchen, generous hands, her hand-made flower bouquets, and a faith that guided everything she did. She leaves us with her Warwood High Class of 1964 song and wishes for life…“Climb Every Mountain” A Visitation will be held at Pineview Church of Christ on Friday, July 3, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. until services begin at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Sidon Cemetery. In Memory of Leah, the family asks that everyone wear her favorite color, “BLUE”. Arrangements entrusted with Powell Funeral Home of Searcy. www.powellfuneralhome.net

Leah Maria Carter

January 1, 1947 - June 30, 2026