A memorial service celebrating the life of the late Dr. K. Nolon Carter will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at Providence Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church on South Broad Street in Clinton.

The Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Presbyterian College, Carter passed away on Dec. 5, 2020, in La Plata, Mo. He was 95.

Carter was a veteran of World War II and was learning to become a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps when the war ended. Afterward, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Erskine College and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from Vanderbilt before joining the PC faculty in 1951.

Dr. K. Nolon Carter

He spent his entire 36-year professional career in PC’s chemistry department, many of those years as department chair. He retired in 1987 as a beloved professor and colleague known best for preparing alumni for the rigors of medical school.

In 1973, he earned the college’s Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1986, he shared the PC Board of Visitors’ Outstanding Service Award with his wife, Eugenia, who also served on the PC faculty.

Nolon and Eugenia, who passed away in 2008, were faithful members of Providence ARP Church, where he was an ordained elder and served for many years as clerk of the session. The Carters were often seen together riding bikes, playing tennis, and playing racquetball.

More than 40 years after his first flying lesson with Uncle Sam, Carter resumed plans to become a pilot and flew as a private aviator well into his later years.

After retirement, Carter also continued his research and, in 1995, published a piece in the Journal of Chemical Education co-authored with his son, Dr. Kenneth N. Carter Jr., a professor of chemistry at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo.

In a tribute published in the Spring 2021 edition of the Presbyterian College Magazine, Charles E. Daniel Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Dr. Ed Gouge said Carter “demonstrated the PC value of service to community and profession.”

“No matter your experience and dealing with Dr. Nolon Carter, you, as I, will always remember him,” he wrote. “For me, his presence in life was a genuine treasure for chemistry, education, church, and PC.”