Raymond Eugene Carter, lovingly known as Ray, Boomer, Dad, Daddy and Papa, leaves behind a legacy rooted in family, service, faith and a deep appreciation for life. He died peacefully on September 15, 2026, in Evergreen, Colorado, at the age of 67, surrounded by his wife and loved ones.<\/p>\n
Born October 22, 1958, in Keokuk, Iowa, to Anna (Ann) Marie and William Albert Carter, Ray graduated from Keokuk High School in 1977. He married his high school sweetheart, Leeanne Sherrill, in 1979, and they welcomed three children. In 1990, he married Annette (Maher) Unruh at St. Paul\u2019s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, becoming a father to two more children and building the blended family he considered his proudest accomplishment.<\/p>\n
Ray dedicated much of his professional life to law enforcement, serving with police departments in Keokuk and Cedar Rapids. In Cedar Rapids, he also served on the SWAT and Bomb Teams. After retiring from the police department, he pursued carpentry before eventually returning to security work in the Denver area.<\/p>\n
After moving to Colorado in 2007, Ray embraced photography, music, hiking and the outdoors. He especially cherished his volunteer work with HawkQuest of Colorado, where he helped provide educational experiences involving hawks, eagles, falcons and owls.<\/p>\n
Above all, Ray treasured his family and his 10 grandchildren. As Papa, he created memorable Christmas celebrations, made his grandchildren laugh and took immense pride in each of them.<\/p>\n
Ray is survived by his wife, Annette, five children, 10 grandchildren, sister Judy Spoores, extended family and many nieces and nephews. His family will celebrate his life on October 10, 2026, at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Marion, Iowa.<\/p>\n
His memory will endure through the family he loved so deeply and the many lives touched by his service, kindness and devotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Raymond Eugene Carter, lovingly known as Ray, Boomer, Dad, Daddy and Papa, leaves behind a legacy rooted in family, service, faith and a deep appreciation for life. He died peacefully on September 15, 2026, in Evergreen, Colorado, at the age of 67, surrounded by his wife and loved ones. Born October 22, 1958, in Keokuk,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n