Eleanor Frances Carter, R.N.

Eleanor Frances Carter of Carmel, Indiana, passed away on December 31, 2025, at the age of 87. She was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 5, 1938, and adopted by loving parents Vivian and Janice (Browning) Collins.

As a young girl Eleanor moved to North Charleston, South Carolina, graduating from St. Andrews High School before attending the College of Charleston where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. While at the College she met the love of her life, Charles, whom she married on June 18, 1960. Following Charles’s graduation from the Medical University of South Carolina the couple moved their growing family to Charlottesville, Virginia, then Wheaton, Maryland, as Charles completed his medical training and served in the U.S. Army.

In 1971 the family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they resided three years before settling into the family home in Carmel, Indiana in May, 1974. Charles and Eleanor lived the rest of their lives on Maple Crest Drive.

Eleanor is best remembered for her loving and generous heart. The Carter home was always filled with children and animals, as Eleanor was fond of saying she would take in any stray, whether they had two legs or four. She was particularly fond of large, orange cats, who were always by her side.

Once the four Carter children were old enough to look after themselves, Eleanor returned to school, earning her nursing degree from Indiana University at Kokomo in 1976. She spent the next several decades as a nurse at Methodist Hospital, preferring to work the late shift when things were not so busy, and she could focus on giving more personal patient care.

Eleanor was a great lover of the arts, with a fondness for dance, choral music, and musical theater. In the early ‘70s she was active with Footlight Musicals in Indianapolis, providing award-winning choreography for shows such as Sweet Charity, Anything Goes, and Camelot. In 1978 she became the initial music director at the newly-formed St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Carmel, Indiana. There she led the choir as well as a spin-off quartet called The Cool Creek Boys, entertaining at various events and facilities around the area for many years. She then spent several years as the music director for the Church of the Master located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Eleanor’s love of dance continued into her later years, leading her to join the Time Steppers, a senior citizen’s dance troupe that performed throughout the Indianapolis area.

Eleanor was also active with her children’s musical and sports activities. For nine years was a reliable “Carmel Band Aid” volunteer for the Carmel Marching Band, after which she went on to volunteer with the Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps from Garfield, New Jersey.

Later in life she developed an interest in all things British, traveling each summer to England to participate in adult education programs at Oxford University. She was able to enjoy all aspects of the theater, from Elizabethan drama through modern, west-end London musicals, and experience life in the British Isles.

Eleanor is survived by children, Charles Benjamin Carter Jr., M.D. (Stephanie) of Carmel, Indiana; Allyson Ashby Carter, of Carmel, Indiana; Geoffrey Richard Carter, of Ormond Beach, Florida; Christopher Stuart Carter of Whitestown, Indiana; grandchildren Benjamin Bryant Carter; Harrison Reese Carter; McLean Stuart Carter; and Lily Frances Carter.

Eleanor was preceded in death by husband Charles, who passed away on June 18, 2019.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society for Hamilton County, 10501 Hague Road, Fishers, IN 46038.