Ruth Monk Carter

Ruth Ellen Monk Carter, age 54, of Natchitoches, La., passed away Wednesday, April 8, 2009, at the hospital in Natchitoches, LA. Arrangements are being handled by Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home, in Natchitoches, where the family will receive friends from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM Friday, April 10, 2009. The family will also receive friends at West Side Baptist Church at 1:00 PM Saturday, April 11, 2009. The funeral service will follow at 2:00 PM at the church with Rev. Clovis Sturdivant officiating. Interment will be at Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA. Ruth Ellen Monk Carter was born on August 21, 1954, in Lake Charles to Boyce C. Monk and Mary Ann Maxfield Monk. She is the granddaughter of the late Oscar and Lucile Maxfield and James and Estelle Monk. Ruth graduated from Lake Charles High School as co-valedictorian of the class of 1972, where she was active in the French Club, the Kilties marching team, and the bell choirs of First United Methodist Church. Ruth attended Northwestern State University on the prestigious Burton Scholarship. She was a 1975 honor graduate of NSU, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Education. Ruth taught in both public and private schools in several Louisiana communities, excelling as a teacher of both Mathematics and French. In 1991, Ruth married her college sweetheart, Allen Franklin Carter, son of W. D. and Billie Carter of Natchitoches. Ruth had been a Natchitoches resident since 1991, where, in addition to teaching, she worked in her husband’s business, Allen Carter Security, as well as at Carter’s Jewelry. Ruth was preceded in death by her father, Boyce C. Monk. She is survived by her husband of almost 18 years, Allen Carter of Natchitoches, LA; her mother, Mary Ann Monk of Lake Charles, LA; her father and mother-in-law, W.D. and Billie Carter of Natchitoches, LA; brother, Bill Monk and wife Aimee of Lake Charles, LA; three sisters, Laura Monk of Lake Charles, Margaret Harris and husband Wayne of Sulphur, LA, and Marilyn Powers and husband Larry of Sulphur Springs, TX; seven nieces; four nephews; and two beloved “daug-ters”, Snuggles and Baby Doll. Memorials may be made to the Robert L. Breckenridge Memorial Scholarship, NSU Foundation, Alumni Center, Natchitoches, LA 71497.