By David F. Rooney
Jack Carten — well known to all true locals and long-time residents — is moving to Calgary to be close to his children.
“Jack Carten and I met in 1950 and I believe that we still have our original Rod & Gun Club crests that we bought from Smythes,” long-time friend Clancy Boettger told The Current. “He was supplying the Rod & Gun Club paraphernalia at that time. Our relationship carried on into membership in the Elks Lodge #453. Jack is the oldest and longest member with 50+ years membership. Fishing, hunting, baseball and curling stories go back a long way. I will surely miss John Carter; the last of another Revelstoke family.”
Always a friendly and cheerful member of the community well-known for his work with local clubs, Jack has been on his own since his wife, Florence Annie, passed away in 2013.
“I’ve known Jack for about 35 years and he is a really wonderful friend,” said George Hopkins. “He has been a loyal and active member of the Revelstoke Elks Lodge for over 53 years and I’ve been a member for 23 years. We have done a lot of volunteer work together.
“I have great respect and admiration for Jack. His support and guidance has immensely benefited me as well as all the members of the Elks Lodge, the members of many other organizations in our community and his many friends. “A list of his contributions to Revelstoke would be a mile long. Really!”
Besides his participation in the Elks’ many projects, Jack was a very active member or Royal Canadian Legion Branch 46, and of the Revelstoke Rod & Gun Club where he was significant proponent of spawning ground renewal projects at Bridge Creek and Moses Creek.
That was my first contact with Jack. As I recall, I had not been in Revelstoke for very long and he wanted to promote the Rod & Gun Club’s work out at Moses Creek. Over the years I ran into Jack whenever there were community-based projects in the works. For several years he came out to Bridge Creek in the autumn for the annual Kokanee Fish Festival when it was run out of Mount Begbie Elementary School. And I frequently ran into him at Cooper’s. Jack always had a smile and kind words for everyone he met and every encounter, no matter how fleeting, was a real delight.
Jack, you will surely be missed by all who know you.
