Barbara Carter's Obituary
Best known for her quick wit, impeccable comedic timing, and risqué jokes, the Fine and Blind, Bad Girl Carter was born in Howell, Michigan Feb 16, 1943, to Nancy Olivia Fisher and Luther Rosemond. Baby Nanette Mason Fisher was lovingly taken in and later adopted by her maternal great Aunt Jimmie Tyler and Uncle AW Brashear. Baby Nanette was given the name Barbara Mason Brashear upon her Dallas arrival in the summer of 1943. Her presence brought joy and laughter to their Munger Avenue home in North Dallas which was shared with her maternal great-grandmother Mama Tyler and great-Aunt Bee.
Munger Avenue was Barbara’s playground. Together with her best friends and confidants, Aubrey Ethel & Gustava Davis, Barbara enjoyed rich memories including Jack and Jill, riding bikes, and earning traffic tickets for riding in a dress. She was often found playing with her guardian dog Hawkshaw while peaking in the window of Black and Clark Funeral home on the corner of Washington and Roseland trying not to get caught watching bodies get embalmed.
Barbara began her formal education at JW Ray elementary school and completed her secondary education at Dallas’s Booker T. Washington High School in 1960. She meandered through undergrad weaving her way through Prairie View College, Fisk University and ultimately received her bachelor’s degree at Wiley College where she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In 1964 the brazen Barbara set forth to New York City to work at the World’s Fair when a work-study masters fellowship collaboration between Spence Chapin Adoption Agency and Fordham University afforded her the option to pursue a master's degree in social work. Her loving adoptive story fueled her passion to help displaced children and she accepted the
offer.
While asking for a cigarette light in a Manhattan restaurant, Barbara was swept off her feet by the youthful medical intern Robert Lee Gamble of Charleston, WV. In less than 45 days the two were wed in Dallas, Texas. To this union was born a son Robert and a daughter Tamara (Tami). The whirlwind romance fizzled and by 1972 the marriage was dissolved. Barbara relocated with her tiny tribe to Detroit, Michigan where she was surrounded and supported by a host of Fisher family members. During this time, Barbara and her biological mother Nancy cultivated their relationship. Barbara legally changed her name to Barbara Olivia Gamble to honor Nancy. During the mid 70’s Barbara was also able to forge a bond with her Rosemond family.
In early 1975 Barbara was introduced to her forever love, the gentle giant Dozier Carter, by mutual friends Floreen and Ken McCall. Together they built a loving home in Detroit for their children while both pursuing graduate degrees. Barbara completed her studies earning a Masters of Social Work from Wayne State University. In 1983 Barbara and Dozier moved to Dallas to support Jimmie and AW through their latter years. The family’s love was completed with the birth of their beautiful baby Cris in 1984.
Following her mother’s legacy of service, Barbara was an active member of the DallasProfessionally. Barbara championed helping others. Her work as a social worker allowed her to enrich the halls of Crittenton Hospital. She served as the director of social work at both Michigan Osteopathic Medical Center and Dallas’s Methodist Central Hospital, concluding her social work service at Visiting Nurses Association.
In the summer of 1996, her life was forever changed. While traveling to Houston in the midst of a rain storm a gruesome car accident left her blind. Although her lack of sight stopped her from driving it did not deter her favorite hobby - SHOPPING. She memorized her credit card number and tuned into HSN for retail therapy when she couldn’t find anyone to take her to the mall.
Barbara’s seemingly mundane HSN shopping habit began to reveal a deeper secret. Her cognitive function was slipping away. She was stashing boxes inside the shower, hiding silverware under the sofas, and ransacking the house. For the next ten years Alzheimer’s demented her mind and ultimately calcified her brain. In the wee hours of January 30th, a window of clarity opened allowing Barbara the chance to ask for kisses and say her final “I love you” to her devoted husband of over 46 years Dozier Carter, her children Robert Gamble, Tami Gamble (Gurnell) & Cris Carter; her grandchildren Titus, Barak, and Caleb (Gurnell), Carter and Olivia (Gamble); and her siblings Shari Clark, Jai Haithco, Luther “Skip”, and Donnie and Chico (Rosemond). She leaves in the wake of her laughter a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and colleagues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HThP5mBOYh0
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