Martha Carter Obituary

Martha Phillips Carroll Riherd Carter GAINSVILLE, FL - Martha Phillips Carroll Riherd Carter died Thursday after a long illness. She was 90. Martha was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She left Charleston to attend the University of Florida, where she met and married a young man named Paul Riherd. They lived in Lake Butler for 37 years, where in addition to raising five lovely children, she spent 35 years teaching children at several schools in Lake Butler, Gainesville, and Macclenny. She loved teaching her whole life and even on family trips made sure presidential libraries and places of learning were included in the itinerary. Even in Her Memory Care facility she ventured to teach her friends, regretting there were not enough supplies! After Paul died in 2001, she lived in Gainesville, Florida. From there she traveled and cruised to many parts of this country and abroad, always taking friends or family along. She loved her cottage in North Carolina and added basket making to her list of hobbies. She also loved sewing, dogs, and bridge throughout her long life. She renewed and kept up with many old friends from childhood. In 2010, she married one of them, Jerry Carter from Charleston, surprising all her children. They moved back to her beloved Charleston and happily lived there until he died and she returned to Florida for good. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Paul Markey Riherd, Gerald M. Carter, Jr. and her daughter, Shelley Wilson Riherd Griffis. She is survived by her children, Martha Riherd Weller (Robert), Brooke Riherd Douglas (William), Harriet Riherd Haynes, Thomas Malcolm Riherd (Barbara); 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and her little Westie, Toto Wooster. She was greatly loved and will be missed by them all. A service to honor Martha will be held Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 3:00pm at First Christian Church Lake Butler. The family will receive friends for a visitation beginning at 2:00pm. Martha will be laid to rest immediately following the service at Dekle Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/?form=alz_donate. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Archer-Milton Funeral Home, Lake Butler, 386-496-2008, archerfuneralhome.com. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston