Corey E. Carter

Corey E Carter, a Waitsburg resident, passed away Monday, January 6, 2025, at the Dayton General Hospital. He was 55. Corey was born March 4, 1969, in Richland, Washington, to Bill and Sharon Carter. He grew up in a loving home full of siblings in the Burbank and Prescott area. Later, they moved to Waitsburg, where Corey played basketball and football in high school. He graduated from Waitsburg High School in 1987. Corey had such a love of basketball that he participated in city games at various locations into his adult life.

Corey loved spending time outdoors. He enjoyed snowmobiling with his family around their cabin in the mountains at Tollgate. He and his wife loved riding motorcycles and 4-wheelers all around our valley and mountains. He also enjoyed boating and fishing at Lyons Ferry and surrounding areas. 

More recently, Corey re-connected with his high school sweetheart, Ronda Bell, and has been living in Waitsburg for the last five years. He was a talented and dedicated ironworker and traveled the Pacific Northwest for his job, often staying in his camper trailer near his work sites. Corey and Ronda married on February 14, 2024. Corey has been sick for just over a year with the diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer. His life was cut short by this devastating disease, but the life he lived was full and filled with love. 

He is survived by his wife, Ronda Carter, at their Waitsburg home, stepdaughter Jessica Richter, Mississippi, and stepson Kyle Darby, Walla Walla. His children, Taylor Zuger and Jason Carter, and granddaughter, Emma Lou Zuger, live in Walla Walla. And by his siblings, Dennis Carter in Walla Walla, Billy Kromm of W. Richland, Charlotte Harshman in Waitsburg, and Carmen Hunter of Touchet, Washington. He was preceded in death by his parents.

A potluck-style celebration of Corey's life will be held on Saturday, January 25, at the Lyons Building in Waitsburg from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. We will supply all beverages and chicken. We all hope you are able to come help us celebrate Corey's life.

We fought the good fight through devastating circumstances with love and faith guiding us, living every day to the fullest. Always and Forever...