Minnie Carter, 93, of Gering, passed peacefully early Monday morning, May 9th, 2022, at Juniper Village Aurora/Wellspring Memory Care in Aurora, Colorado. Her funeral service will be held at 10am on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Gering United Methodist Church, 900 O Street, Gering, NE with Pastor Seth Leypoldt officiating. Interment will follow at West Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5-7 on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of any flowers, memorials be sent to the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering, NE. Online condolences may be made by viewing Minnie’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com.
She was born in Minatare, Nebraska, on March 26th, 1929, to Henry and Lena (Roth) Meter. Minnie was one of 12 children who lived on the family farms around Minatare, NE. She graduated from Minatare High School in 1947, Scottsbluff Junior College in 1953, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Chadron State in 1972. She taught elementary school for 34 years, starting with rural schools Sunnyside, Cedar Canyon, and Haig. She taught with the Gering Public Schools at Lincoln Elementary. She married Rexford Wesley Carter (Wes) on June 25, 1950. They had 2 children, Rexford Wesley, and Laurie Sue. She and Wes raised their family, attended family, musical, and sporting events, and grew their respective careers until they both retired in 1989. After their retirements, visits with grandchildren were highly treasured. All of this took place over 70 years at the same house they built in 1952 on O Street in Gering. Minnie was moved to Juniper Village Aurora/Wellspring Memory Care in Aurora, Colorado on New Years’ Day, 2020.
Throughout her life, Minnie was active in many musical activities. Her 2nd grade teacher allowed her to sing her answers. She sang in the Gering United Methodist church choir, joined in with the Salem Congregational German Singers choir, sang with the Meter Family/Sisters Singers, and performed with the Valley Voices choirs. That experience involved many performances, highlighted with performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and trips to Germany to perform in majestic cathedrals. After Minnie retired, she became quite interested in genealogy and was able to track down the history her parent’s immigration from Russia. This ancestry research sparked her passion to write a book about her parents and growing up in the Meter family. “The Farmer’s Dozen”© is registered in the Library of Congress. Subsequent to the release of that book, she began writing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hand-written poems, journals, daily tips, and heart-felt words of wisdom.
Minnie is survived by her children, Rex (Debbie) Carter and Laurie Lawyer; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grand-children (with one more on the way); brothers Robert, Ted, Henry, and Richard Meter; and sisters, Pauline Langhofer, Betty Rupp, and Darlene Robertus.
Minnie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Wes Carter; her brother Reiny Meter and sisters Marie Miller, Lydia Bangert, and Elsie Harimon.
