Hope Cemetery memorial garden dedicated to Jack Carter
July 6, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti A memorial garden to Jack Carter has been created in a clearing among tall cedar trees at Hope Cemetery. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The cremains of Jack Carter were laid to rest in Hope Cemetery on June 21 on the one-year anniversary of his passing.
About 30 people attended a brief service with Paul Willard, retired minister from the Waterbury Congregational Church, officiating.
The spot chosen for Carter’s final resting place is the center of a grove of tall cedar trees, a place Carter’s life partner of 41 years, Ted Schultheis, said Carter was particularly fond of. Those familiar with the cemetery will recognize the spot where two metal chairs sit between the trees. Carter put the chairs there years ago, Schultheis said on a recent visit to the cemetery.
Friends helped plant a small garden in a circular bed believed to have been a pool in years gone by. A granite marker bears the inscription: “Jack Carter Memorial Garden, Lover of Community, History, Nature.”
Carter died in 2021 at the age of 75. Born in Windsor, Vermont, Carter with Schultheis lived in Waterbury for decades. The pair opened and ran Stowe Street Emporium for nearly 20 years.
Carter served in many volunteer roles in the community including elected offices on the Cemetery Commission and Select Board. He was an active member of the Waterbury Historical Society and Revitalizing Waterbury.
His passing last year resulted in a spontaneous community gathering in the alley beside the shop Carter ran with zeal. In September, a more formal memorial celebration of his life was held in Rusty Parker Memorial Park. Since then, the project to reimagine the alley to convert it into a space for gatherings, performances and art has gained traction with multiple community groups led by Revitalizing Waterbury. A fundraiser was recently held to sell bricks to be used when old pavement is removed.
The circular perennial bed fills what was once a small pool. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Carter liked to visit Hope Cemetery and tended the small round garden for years, Schultheis said. Now that Carter has passed, a special granite bench was made for the spot with a top carved in the shape of the state of Vermont. Windsor and Waterbury are noted on its face as the towns where Carter lived most of his life. The base is a grave marker that also bears Schultheis’ name.
A favorite quotation inscribed on granite is in the memorial garden. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Also in the garden bed is a small granite marker with the quotation, “Flowers are the silent voices of God … part of the vocabulary of heaven.”
Schultheis said the quote is from Mackenzie King who was prime minister of Canada from 1921 to 1948, and whose childhood home in Kitchener, Ontario, is an historic site that Carter and he visited years ago. Carter very much admired its Victorian gardens where the quote was inscribed. Following their visit, Schultheis said he had the quote inscribed on a granite marker for their home garden. He decided to move it to the cemetery garden now.
Under the cedar trees, the metal chairs remain along with the granite bench making it a welcoming spot for people to visit and meditate, Schultheis said. “I think Jack would love this,” he added.
CORRECTION: This story was corrected to note that Paul Willard is a retired minister from the Waterbury Congregational Church.