Clarence D. Carter (“Pops”) passed away peacefully on Jan. 10, 2022, at 101. A well-known resident of Oak Bluffs, he spent his last months at Royal Falmouth Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Clarence was born in Boston in 1920, shortly after his parents immigrated to America from Christ Church, Barbados, West Indies. He spent his early childhood in Roxbury. At 9 years old, Clarence and his family moved to New York, living in Manhattan and the Bronx. Although he held many odd jobs as a youth to help support his parents and four younger siblings during the Great Depression, he completed junior high school in the Bronx.
Mature beyond his years and determined not to be defeated by the distressed economy of the times, Clarence worked alongside his father, a tenement building superintendent. He also shined shoes for 5 cents on the streets of NYC, and worked as a presser in dry-cleaning plants in NYC and later in Boston for 25 to 75 cents an hour. He also worked as a cook and waiter at Joe’s Oyster House, a restaurant in Boston owned by his cousin. His innate business acumen, tenacity, and strong work ethic attracted influential supporters and mentors. Consequently, in the 1960s, he purchased a local dry-cleaning service in Dorchester and renamed it B & B Cleaners. He also owned homes in Dorchester and Randolph.
Clarence became a successful businessman, and developed a strong following of customers throughout Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. He also was principally responsible for financing and helping several individuals establish dry cleaning and laundry businesses in Roxbury and Dorchester. He retired at 66 years of age.
He was fun-loving, an avid reader, and an engaging conversationalist who readily shared his experiences and insights with others whether they wanted it or not. Considered a renaissance man, Clarence enjoyed working with his hands, and demonstrated adeptness as a finish carpenter, woodworker, and mechanic. He loved listening to the jazz greats of the 1930s to 1970s, and was a huge boxing and wrestling fan. Steadfast yet optimistic by nature, he encouraged everyone he met, and especially his children, to take the initiative and excel in their chosen pursuits.
Clarence is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betty Jewel, of Oak Bluffs; three children, Joseph C. Carter, his wife, Rae, of Oak Bluffs, and their daughter Emily and son-in-law Adam of Madison, Wisc.; Dr. Miriam Onyebujoh, her husband, Dr. Philip, of Abuja, Nigeria, and her daughters, Thokozani and Nokukhanya; Maria Hermantin, her husband, Damien, of Broken Arrow, Okla., and their children Marthyl, Rhonnelle, and Aunyes; and a host of nephews, nieces, in-laws, and other family members. He was preceded in death by his brothers Lyle of the U.K. and Ralph of Palm Coast, Fla., and sisters Esther and Eleanor, both of New York City.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the family will hold a celebration of life on Friday, June 10, at Chapman Funerals and Cremations in Oak Bluffs. The tentative schedule is a wake from 12 pm to 1 pm, the service from 1 to 2 pm, and a reception from 2 to 5 pm. In early May, further details will be announced on the funeral home’s website, bit.ly/ChapmanCarter.
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