Harriet Elester Stevens Carter, age 80, departed this life on Saturday, October 22, 2022, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She was a member of The Church of God Sanctified in Madisonville, Tennessee. When her health began to fail, she retired from Captain D’s Restaurant in Oak Ridge as a Prep Manager after 22 years of service. Before launching her career with Captain D’s, she worked in private homes and as a custodian for the Canton Hall Dormitories and JC Penny Department Store of Oak Ridge. She received her elementary education at Park City Grammar School in Madisonville and her secondary education at High Point High School in Sweetwater, Tennessee. She studied Cosmetology and served as a hairdresser for members of her family and close friends.

Elester received her spiritual background from The Church of God Sanctified in Madisonville, attending Sunday school, H.Y.P.U., Bible Study, and Worship Services. She accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and was baptized under the pastorship of the Late Elder Leuty N. McDermott. She immediately got busy working for the Lord, used her tenor voice in the choir, and served as head of the kitchen until her health failed. Happy she was in ministering her service to God through the church. She loved going to church and giving God praise. She was determined to attend church services even in the end, but God had something better for her.

There was a chemistry about Elester so magnetic that when you met her, you were drawn to her. This chemistry won her many, many friends. She always wore a smile that would brighten up any room. She used color in a completely arbitrary way to express herself powerfully. Elester was an impeccable dresser. Her hair was always “laid” when going in public. She kept her home immaculate—everything had a place and was in its place. She was a strict disciplinarian. She taught her children well. She set high expectations for her children, knowing that was the key to success. Her children greatly respected her, for they knew their mother–Elester Stevens Carter– would accept nothing less!
Elester had a great love for her family and friends. She was very protective of her children and her sisters and brothers. She was an industrious woman, always providing for her family– always busy working to provide for their basic needs. She was a humble person, never thinking of herself as being indispensable. Elester was selfless and always shared with her fellow man. When visiting her home, she never failed to freely share her breakfasts, lunches, dinners, or snacks with you. Let’s not forget about her cakes and pies! When the holidays came around, what meals did she not prepare? It was as though she was cooking for the entire community. She enjoyed doing it for others. At any given time, she may shower you with a gift expecting nothing in return. That’s just the kind of person she was!
Elester was preceded in death by her husband, Don E. Carter; son, Charles Anthony Stevens; parents, Daniel (Rags) Stevens Jr. and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bell Wilson Stevens; grandparents, William B. and Harriett Nolan Wilson, Richard and Susan Stevens; father-in-law Roscoe Carter; mother-in-law Ruthie Carter Mix; brothers-- Chester Robert, Daniel, Thomas Andrew, and Richard Stevens; sisters--Mae Zella Stevens and Susan Stevens Wells Crowder; brothers-in-law, Paul L. Jones, Jack Wells, Curtis Crowder, James “Billy” Black, Charles F. Carson, Archie Lee “Sandy” Carter, Clarence Henry Carter; sisters-in-law—Ella Miller Fuller, Marsha Hall Stevens, and Dorothy Mae Carter; uncles--Chester, Lynch, and Thurman McDermott; Richard, Isaiah, and Robert Stevens, Victor and Charles Stephens; aunts--Donnie McDermott Houston, Deedee McDermott, Margaret and Blenza Stephens.

She leaves to cherish her memories: sons—Marcus Stevens, Gregory Rudolph Davis, and Orlando Davis, all of Oak Ridge, TN; daughter, Jessica Nicole “Nikki” Frederick of Oak Ridge; “Special” daughters, Cassandra Harris and Marguerita “Margo” Burum; eight grandchildren: Sherrod Thomas, Kevin Harris, Brandon (Sandy) Bunch, Aryeka Frederick, Day-Lyn Higgins, Chiquita (Ryan) Bunch Craze, Chantell, and Eric Burum; six great-grandchildren: Ryanna and Eva Craze; Kantessa Bunch; Ra’Niciyana, Ra`Ziya, and Rick Grate Jr.; brother, Harvey Stevens Sr., of Knoxville, TN; sisters: Priscilla Faye Stevens of Knoxville, TN, Willie Benton, Maxie Jones, and Shirley Carson of Madisonville, TN; brothers-in-Law, Chester Carter of Clinton, TN and Jimmy Fuller of Montgomery, Alabama; sisters-in-law: Barbara Stevens of Knoxville, Alma Stevens, Oak Ridge, Judy Carter, Clinton, and Barbara Carter; Knoxville; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Devoted friends: Mary “Poochie” Jones Gray, Janice Howard, Janie Taylor, and Anderson Wells.