William Oscar Carter, 80, of Hartwell, Georgia, died August 8, 2003, at the Athens Regional Medical Center.Born July 11, 1923, in Hartwell, Georgia, he was the son of the late Carey Cade Carter, Sr. and Nina Brown Teasley Carter.He was a veteran of World War II, serving on the destroyer USS Mayo in the United States Navy. After service, he entered the University of Georgia, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science and his LLB degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.He was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1948. He served on its Board of Governors and various other committees. He was a member and past president of the Northern Judicial Circuit Bar Association, a Lifetime Member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and served as its President in 1974 and member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was proud to have been a trial lawyer throughout his 50 years of practice.He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives in 1957 and 1958, appointed a Lieutenant Colonel Aide de Camp Governor's Staff by Georgia's Governors S. Ernest Vandiver, George Busbee and Joe Frank Harris. Governor Busbee also named him an "Admiral of the Georgia Navy."He was a member of the Delta Theta Chi legal fraternity, the Georgia Alumni Association, the Gridiron Secret Society, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, V.F.W. Post 8076, a member and past Post Commander of the American Legion Post 109 and a former member and past president of the Hartwell Kiwanis Club and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Elberton Lodge No. 1100.He was a member of Bowersville Lodge No. 595 Free and Accepted Masons, Fred E. Lee Chapter No. 86 of the Royal Arch Masons, Franklin Council No. 50 of the Royal and Select Master Masons, a 32 degree Mason of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and of the Yaarab Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was a lifelong member of the Hartwell First United Methodist Church and the Wallace White Sunday School Class. He served his church in many capacities and was a benefactor to many churches and organizations throughout his community.He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 49 years, Mary Helen Brooks Carter; by his eldest son, Robert Harris Carter, of Hartwell, and by his children with his wife, Mary, James William Carter, M.D, and his wife, Cindy Hudgens Carter, of Spartanburg, S.C., Richard Brooks Carter Sr., of Nashville, Tenn., Stephen Clay Carter and his wife, Kathy Hamby Carter, of Hartwell; and a daughter Mary Brooks Carter Hogan and her husband, William P. Hogan Sr., of Greenville, S.C.; and is also survived by sisters, Nina Carter Pittard-Wilson, of Hartwell and Louisa Carter, Alexander of Atlanta. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Martha Eleanor Carter; brother, Carey Cade Carter, Jr.; and grandson, William Barton Carter.Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 11th, at 11 o'clock a.m. at the Hartwell First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Allen Stewart, the Rev. Jim Winn and the Rev. Ted Kelley officiating. Burial will be in the Northview Cemetery in Hartwell. The family has selected William Carter, Jeff Carter, Bill Pittard, Ed Alexander, John Alexander, Bobby Bonds, Jack Edmunds, John Seay and Jim Milford to serve as pallbearers and has requested the members of the Northern Judicial Circuit, Bowersville Masonic Lodge 595 and American Legion Post 109 to serve as honorary pallbearers.The body is at the Strickland Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends today, August 10th, from 6 to 9 p.m. The family is at the home.In lieu of flowers, the family has respectfully requested that memorial gifts be made to the Hartwell First United Methodist Church, 200 East Howell Street, Hartwell, Georgia 30643.The Strickland Funeral Home, 305 Cleveland Avenue, Hartwell, is serving the Carter family during this time of loss.