The Rev Heather Dorr, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Jefferson, will offer words of comfort. Aunt Makala Semke will share family reflections. Soloist will be Gary Haupert, accompanied by Sheryl Sloan.
Carter Lane Semke was born in Jefferson to Ted and Mindy Semke on November 11, 1998. Awaiting his arrival was his big brother Spencer Semke, grandparents, and uncle. His mom remarried to James Ford and added a little brother, Tucker Ford, to the family. He attended Jefferson-Scranton school district and graduated in 2017.
Carter was very active growing up. He played T-ball, was a member of the Boy Scouts of America for many years, and he showed animals in 4-H. His mom made sure he was an avid reader; his tastes were eclectic and spanned many genres.
He played the trombone in band, and keyboard, guitar, trumpet and other instruments at home. He loved music and going to concerts with his friends. He traveled a lot with his family, to Canada with grandparents and cousins, to Washington DC with his mom and brother Spencer, a family trip to the Wisconsin Dells too, so many places.
Carter was adventurous and enjoyed skateboarding. His mom made him the best skateboard birthday cake! He loved cars, especially Jeeps, and he had a Datsun he thought was really special. He usually had a project he was working on. He loved to dismantle things and reconstruct them into something cool. His creativity never ceased to amaze.
He worked at Fareway, which of course Tucker wanted to do to be just like him. He also worked at Seven Oaks and Breadeaux. After graduation he moved to Des Moines and bought a house. He got a job with Tesdell Electric as an electrician’s apprentice.
He was passionate about politics, social justice, and environmental issues. He had an inner light and kindness that made him so sweet. His family and friends will always remember him as someone who lit up a room and could make everyone laugh.
People can pretend to be okay while silently suffering. We lost Carter to a battle with depression on Nov. 2, 2022. It’s difficult to know what to say when you lose someone, especially with the light and kindness we saw in Carter. He left this quote, “It costs $0.00 to remind someone they aren’t alone in this world. I love you.”
