Joseph “Joe” Carter Jr.

January 26, 1951 – September 8, 2026

Joseph Carter Jr., lovingly known as Joe, passed away on September 8, 2026, at the age of 75. Born on January 26, 1951, Joe lived a life grounded in faith, family, service, hard work, and a genuine love and concern for others.

A Life of Faith

Joe loved God, and he loved his church. His faith was an important part of the man he was and the life he lived. He was a faithful member of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church, where his church family held a special place in his heart.

Joe gave to his church not only through his faith and presence, but also through the gifts of his hands. He proudly helped install the new chandeliers at St. Benedict, a contribution that meant a great deal to him. Today, when his family and church community look up, there is a piece of Joe still there, shining above the church he loved.

Joe’s faith could also be seen in the way he treated people. He believed in helping others, offering encouragement, keeping his word, and being present when someone needed him. His church family was truly family to him, just as were so many people he encountered throughout his life.

For Joe, family was never defined by blood alone. There was his family at home, his church family, his work family, lifelong friends, neighbors, classmates, and countless others he gathered along the way. If Joe cared about you, you were family. And he loved his family well.

A Life of Service

Joe dedicated more than 50 years of his working life to St. Joseph’s/Candler, beginning his career at the original St. Joseph Hospital in the heart of Savannah. His remarkable tenure spanned generations and some of the most significant chapters in the hospital’s history. He helped with the relocation of St. Joseph’s to its current Southside location, remained through the merger of St. Joseph’s and Candler, and most recently worked at Candler Hospital as a dedicated member of the Plant Operations team.

Joe began his career as an electrician and later became a Team Leader during his years of service. With more than half a century invested in the organization, he knew the hospitals inside and out. At the time of his passing, Joe was the longest-serving active employee of St. Joseph’s/Candler, an extraordinary reflection of his loyalty, dependability, work ethic, and commitment to an institution and work family he deeply loved.

For Joe, St. Joseph’s/Candler was more than a place of employment. After so many decades, the people there had become family. He welcomed new employees, encouraged coworkers, offered wisdom, celebrated their accomplishments, and never hesitated to lend a helping hand. Generations of employees came to know the familiar smile, quiet kindness, and steady presence of Mr. Joe.

Military Service

Joe’s long career at St. Joseph’s was interrupted only briefly when he answered the call to serve his country in the United States Army. Following his military service, he returned home to Savannah and resumed his position as an electrician at St. Joseph’s, continuing a career that would ultimately span more than five decades.

The Man He Was

Joe was, quite simply, a good man. A man of quiet strength and integrity with an enormous heart, he was calm, humble, soft-spoken, and gentle in spirit. He did not need to command a room to make his presence known. Often, his warm smile did that for him. It was a smile people remembered, one that welcomed you, put you at ease, and somehow made the day a little brighter.

Joe genuinely cared about people, and he showed it in the way he lived. He checked on people. He asked about their families and remembered what they told him. He offered encouragement when someone was struggling and celebrated them when they succeeded. He gave advice without judgment, lent a hand without expecting anything in return, and had a way of offering a few simple words at exactly the right moment.

He reminded people to keep going. He told them when he was proud of them. He reassured them that things were going to be all right.

Joe was a man of his word and someone people knew they could depend on. His friendships stretched across decades, from childhood and school to church, work, and the greater Savannah community. He was also a proud supporter of his Richard Arnold High School alumni community.

To know Joe was to know a man who believed in looking after people. That quiet way of caring became part of his legacy. Those whose lives crossed paths with Joe remember not only what he did, but how he made them feel: welcomed, encouraged, cared for, and loved.

His Greatest Love: Family

Above all else, Joe was a family man. To his wife, Alicia, he was a devoted husband, life partner and best friend. To his children, Kimberly and Joey, he was simply Daddy. To his grandchildren, Joelle, Lizzie, and Jovani, he was Papa. Different names for the same man, each carrying a lifetime of love, security, and the certainty that Joe would always be there.

Joe and Alicia shared a life that made them nearly inseparable. Their marriage was built not only on love, but on partnership, friendship, family, and the many years of simply doing life side by side. Where you saw one, the other was rarely far behind.

For his children and grandchildren, Joe was the rock of the family. There was very little they believed Daddy or Papa couldn’t handle. A phone call about a problem might be met with, “I’m coming,” “I need to look at it,” or “How much is it?” And sometimes, before anyone quite knew what happened, Joe had already taken care of it.

That was his way.

He didn’t just tell his family he loved them. He showed them by making sure they were all right.

He loved his grandchildren fiercely and proudly embraced being their Papa. And in Kimberly and Joey, he raised children who carry so much of him forward: his strength, loyalty, determination, commitment to family, and instinct to take care of the people they love. His example became part of who they are.

Joe was the man his family counted on, the one they called, the one who showed up, the one who figured things out, and the one who made them feel safe simply because he was there.

To the world, he was Joseph Carter Jr. To coworkers and friends, he was Joe or Mr. Joe. To his wife, he was her husband and life partner. To his children, he was Daddy. And to his grandchildren, he was Papa. He was their rock. He was their home. And there was nothing like him.

Celebration of Life

Family and friends are invited to gather in remembrance of Joe at his Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2026, at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church, 441 E. Broad St., Savannah, Georgia 31401.

The service will be live-streamed beginning approximately 15 minutes before the service on the funeral home’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UClQ6Qjr6Gw2LgmWHnmq4T6w. The service will also be shared on the Adams Funeral Services Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/adamsfuneralservices/ 

Burial will take place on September 18, 2026, at Catholic Cemetery, 1720 Wheaton St., Savannah, Georgia 31404.

May Joseph “Joe” Carter Jr. be remembered for his faith, his service, his unmistakable smile, the people he cared for, and the extraordinary love he gave so freely.

His was a life of showing up, taking care of people, and loving them well. And that love lives on in every family he made along the way. ❤️