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Roll Call Tribute

Cyrus "Carter" Barcus '59 July 26, 2021 12:54 PM updated: July 26, 2021 1:07 PM

Carter Barcus
September 3, 1936 – March 6, 2021

“The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and The Spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” -Ecclesiastes 12:7 ~·~ “The evergreen is an emblem of immortality— and Reminds us of that immortal part within us— Which shall NEVER NEVER NEVER DIE!”

Carter Barcus died peacefully at his home in Marble Falls, Texas on March 6, 2021. A lover of animals, college football, politics, and justice, he was a great champion of the underdog and believed in what he called “unbridled enthusiasm and irrational exuberance.”

Cyrus Carter Barcus was born in 1936 in Orange, Texas, to the Reverend Edward R. and Cathryn Carter Barcus. He moved with his family to Sherman, Texas, where he spent the majority of his childhood. This time in a small North Texas town was the foundation of the formative friendships, memories, and stories that he would revisit repeatedly throughout the rest of his life.

Carter was most known for the integrity, honor, and fairness with which he approached all things. This, paired with a highly analytical mind, served to propel him in his service in the United States Army and his professional life beyond. He had a successful career in Public Relations for the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and enjoyed more success in partnering with a fellow Aggie to build their Civil Engineering firm, Graham Associates. However, he would be the first to say that “success” cannot be defined in these terms. Instead, his approach to life was one of knowing the value of “time, patience, and perseverance” in all endeavors.

Carter was a great storyteller. While he was entertaining and funny, it was also his way of connecting with people through these stories that was most engaging. His daughters and grandchildren would often prompt him with, “tell us the one about…” and he’d be off and running. In his Masonic practice, he was known amongst his Brother Masons for the performative ways with which he delivered degrees. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a laugh to go with it. Always a little mischievous and playful, he made friends easily. However, he had little patience for nonsense in relationships and you always knew where you stood with him and what he was thinking.

Carter became a Master Mason in 1966 and was a 32nd Degree Mason. A member of five separate individual lodges in Central and North Texas, he served his Brother Masons throughout the years by holding the offices of Secretary (Bertram No. 583, Henry Thomas No. 278), Junior Warden (Valley No. 175, Bertram No. 583, Lake Victor No. 1011), Senior Warden (Henry Thomas No. 278, Lake Victor No. 1011), Tiler (Henry Thomas No. 278), Junior Deacon (Bertram No. 583), Senior Deacon (Bertram No. 583, Henry Thomas No. 278), and Worshipful Master (Henry Thomas No. 278). He is Past Master of Henry Thomas Lodge No. 278 (Smithwick, TX) and Lake Victor Lodge No.1011(Lake Victor, TX). Masonry not only represented a connection to generations of practice in his family, but also the tenets by which he lived his life. He believed in the promotion of the welfare and happiness of all mankind and that while unselfishness was a duty, quiet and unspoken help to those who needed it was its own reward. His belief in social responsibility, equity, and service could be seen in all that he did.

Education was important and foundational to Carter. He graduated with a BS degree in Civil Engineering (having noted not a love of the field, but instead that it was the shortest line at registration) from Texas A&M in 1959. This is where he also served in the ROTC Corps of Cadets, a service that resulted in a Commission in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps as a 2nd Lt. During his military service, he distinguished himself and attained the rank of Captain while serving in the 97th Civil Affairs Team, 1st Special Forces Group, Okinawa, in the early days of the Vietnam War. But the importance of learning did not stop with formal education and service. Carter always endeavored to expand his knowledge of the world around him through travel, reading, and his love of history.

Born into a long lineage of Methodist ministers, Carter was more spiritual than religious. A self-professed “freelance monotheist” who, in his own words, “stubbornly held to his own tight moral standards,” he built the foundation of his personal spiritual beliefs on any number of religious texts he studied and found Buddhism late in life—a practice that saw him through to the end.

Carter lived his adult family life in three chapters. After college, he married his high school sweetheart, Beverly, with whom he had his two daughters, Paige and Mary Mikel. He later married Ione and helped to raise her two boys, Barry and Michael. In the following years, he met and married the love of his life, Judy Barcus—who precedes him in death—and while they only had a few years together as husband and wife, she proved to be his greatest influence and source of joy. Carter is survived by his daughter Paige Barcus-Slade and her husband Rick Slade; daughter Mary Mikel Stump and her husband Marty Stump; grandchildren Oliver McElroy, Carter McElroy, Wiley Reid, and Whitaker Reid. He is also survived by his older brother, Jack Barcus and his nephews Mark Barcus and Reid Barcus and niece Jennifer Barcus-Schaffer and their families. He is preceded in death by a brother, “Samie,” as well as his parents and Sister-in-law, Dee Barcus.

Carter’s life was one well lived. He made a mark on the world and will be missed by many. His goodbye was often: “May your heart be filled with kindness. May you be peaceful and at ease.” This is the way he left the world.

So mote it be.

~·~

If you’d like to remember this remarkable man, his daughters would love for you to donate to your local animal shelter or plant an evergreen tree in memorial through the Arbor Day Foundation.

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