Carter Dale Sarvela

Carter Dale Sarvela, 70 of Stevensville, passed away Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 with his family surrounding him at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan. A Celebration of Carter’s life will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Road in St. Joseph. Reverend William Witcher of Oak Hill Church of God, Forrest City, Arkansas will perform the service. Burial will follow at Hickory Bluff Cemetery in Stevensville. Friends may visit from 5:00pm until 7:00pm Monday November 5, 2012 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Carter Dale Sarvela Family fund in care of 5/3rd Bank. Those wishing to share a memory of Carter online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Carter was born on August 27, 1942 in Moose Lake, Minnesota, to Mr. and Mrs. Sulo and Edith (Haglund) Sarvela. Carter served his country proudly as a recruiter and aircraft mechanic for 20 years in the United States Navy. His last tour of duty was served on the USS Midway in Yokosuka, Japan. He retired from the Navy in 1978. He continued working as a certified auto mechanic until his retirement in 2006. He met and fell in love with Judy Witcher, whom he married in St. Joseph in 1972. They enjoyed nothing better than spending quality time together, from traveling, gardening, bird watching, and their favorite, spending time with their grandchildren. Their children grew up surrounded in love and laughter and continue to make Carter and Judy very proud. Carter’s gift of fixing everything from customers’ cars to the grandchildren’s toys brought him great satisfaction. He was best known for his honesty in every area of life. His legacy of honesty and selfless love for his family will live on for them all. Carter is survived by his amazingly loving wife of 40 years, Judy; daughter Monica (Jack) Berry of Chamblee, GA; son Brian (Jaime) Sarvela of Harvey, LA; daughter Brigitte (Todd) Kelley of St. Joseph; daughter in law Cyndi Aldrich of Niles; brothers Jerome Sarvela of Duluth, MN; Greg (Sharyn) Sarvela of Moose Lake, MN; Randy (Keith) Sarvella of Moose Lake, MN; Darrell (Cindy) Lucas of St. Paul, MN; eleven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Carter was preceded in death by his parents; son Brian Aldrich; brother Merrel Sarvela, and sister in law Francine Sarvela.