Rhoda Debes Carter

Funeral services for Rhoda Debes Carter, 88, of Beaumont, will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael's Orthodox Church with interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Please join friends and family for the Mercy Meal at St. Michael's after the burial. The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the Claybar Kelley-Watkins Funeral Home and from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. at St. Michael's Orthodox Church. There will be a memorial service at the church at 7:00 p.m. followed by an additional half hour visitation.
Mrs. Carter passed into a better world on April 6, 2008. She was born Rhoda Debes, to Alma and Gabriel Debes, on February 20, 1920, in Beaumont, Texas. Rhoda lived most of her life in Beaumont but was an adventurous person for the times. She lived in Houston with her sister during part of high school, moved to Detroit, Michigan, to live with her aunt after graduation from Beaumont High, traveled to California with friends before the war, and during WWII, worked at the Pentagon speedily typing classified material to aid the war effort.
She married a boy she knew from her youth, Rapp O. Carter, after the war. They settled in Beaumont and had two children, Margaret Ann and Rapp, Jr. The family followed Rapp's job to Alaska in the late 60s, living in Anchorage twice. While in Alaska, they experienced the pristine beauty of Mount Denali Park and Portage Glacier. Rhoda, who loved to cook and eat delicious food, delighted in seeing and picking the giant vegetables that grew in the Matanuska Valley during the long Alaskan summers.
Rhoda's intellect, as well as her fast and accurate shorthand and typing skills, brought her into the legal field. She worked as secretary and assistant to Federal Judge Lamar Cecil until his untimely death. In her 40-year career, she worked at several prominent local law firms and graduated from Lamar as a paralegal later in her life.
Rhoda retired in Beaumont and spent many years cooking to feed a variety of friends and family members who loved her delicious Lebanese and Syrian foods. She loved to play Bingo and made three trips to Las Vegas, where she had lots of fun, and sometimes even won! During retirement, Rhoda volunteered for 10 years at Henry's Place, a local drop-in center for the homeless.
Rhoda Debes Carter had a huge heart and was compassionate and caring, just like her Mother, Alma. She will be remembered by many for generosity of spirit and her love of people, especially those less fortunate.
Those left to cherish her memory at son, Rapp Carter, Jr., daughter, Margaret Carter, sisters, Helen Richmond, and Alice Arledge; brother, Jim Debes, Jr., and numerous nieces and nephews.
Serving as pallbearers will be Margaret Carter Christopher Cheek, Brian Debes, Jim Debes III, Randy French, Scott French, Melinda Harper, Alex Merritt, and Bob Wortham.