Violet Carter

Violet Shirley Shelton Carter, 86, beloved mother, wife, sister, grandmother, and great grandmother passed away Monday, December 27, 2021, in St. George Utah. Violet was born on October 9, 1935 in Marion, Smyth County, Virginia to Sarah Victoria Reed Shelton and John Arthur Shelton, a logger, miner and farmer. Violet was the fifth of eleven children and shared many a tale of growing up with her siblings in rural Virginia and telling of the hardships and beauty of life in the country.

On August 3, 1954, when she was almost 19 years old, Violet was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was baptized in the Holston River in Marion, Virginia. She met Phillip Chase Carter, who was enlisted in the Army, at a dance in Baltimore, Maryland. They married in Baltimore on January 12, 1957 and then moved to Logan, Utah, Phil’s home town. On February 1, 1957, they were sealed in the Logan LDS temple.

Violet always loved reading and studying scriptures. She served in many callings and enjoyed her time as Relief Society president in the old Cedar Fourth ward. For many years Violet and Phil devoted time to genealogy research.

Through the years Violet and Phil welcomed nine children to their family; infant Melody lived only a short time. The family spent several years in Logan, a few years in California, and then moved to Cedar City, Utah when Phil became an education professor at Southern Utah State College.

With a love for gardening, flowers, plants, and trees, the couple bought a ten-acre alfalfa field in the countryside north of Cedar City, turned the field into an oasis, and built a home for the family. In 1976, they bought Harrison House of Flowers, a retail floral shop on Cedar City’s Main Street, and changed the name to Carter’s Cedar Floral. In 1982, they closed the floral and turned the family home into Willow Glen Inn Bed and Breakfast. Phillip and Violet hosted countless weddings, reunions and events at the Bed and Breakfast, gaining many lifelong friends. After selling Willow Glen in 2014, Violet and Phil bought a home in St. George. Violet’s last years were spent at The Haven at Sky Mountain in Hurricane.

Violet’s favorite pastimes included treasure hunting at yard sales and thrift stores. She also loved reading, especially Louis L’Amour western novels. Violet enjoyed growing and arranging flowers, looking through beautiful floral and craft magazines, and had a great flair for decorating. She loved decorating the rooms of Willow Glen for the Christmas season and always did an amazing job with the Christmas trees. She was very creative, talented, and had beautiful penmanship. She was delighted to win a blue ribbon at the county fair for a quilted pillow in 1994. Her favorite treats were a cold Pepsi and some See’s candies.

Through the years, the Carter family has grown to include 28 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, infant daughter Melody, two sons Benjamin and Nathan, and seven siblings. She is survived by children: Jonathan (Katrin), Natasha (Clay), Marissa, Crystal (Steve), Clayton (Melissa), Timothy (Casey), and siblings: Blana, Jeanne, and Donald (Joyce).