Locke Carter Obituary

Dr. Locke Yancey Carter

July 28, 1936 -

March 7, 2026

KINGSPORT - Dr. Locke Yancey Carter, beloved physician, husband, father, grandfather, and devoted member of the Kingsport community, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2026, surrounded by his family.

Dr. Carter was born July 28, 1936, at Holston Valley Community Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, the son of Clara Locke Yancey Carter and Edward Herbert Carter. Medicine was woven into his life from the beginning. His grandfather, Dr. Thomas Bragg Yancey, was one of the first physicians in Kingsport and the first President of the Medical Staff at Holston Valley Community Hospital. As a young boy, Locke accompanied his grandfather on house calls and hospital rounds, experiences that inspired a lifelong calling to medicine.

Dr. Carter attended Dobyns-Bennett High School, graduating in 1954. He went on to attend Davidson College and later earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in 1962. Following medical school, he served as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps before completing his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Cardiology at Emory University Hospitals.

In 1968, Dr. Carter returned home to Kingsport and entered private practice, dedicating his life to caring for the community he loved. For more than three decades, he practiced cardiology and internal medicine at Holston Valley Community Hospital and followed in his grandfather's footsteps to become a leader in advancing health care throughout the region.

Among his many contributions, Dr. Carter helped develop the hospital's first Coronary Care Unit and placed the first pacemaker in a patient at Holston Valley. He was instrumental in bringing cardiovascular surgeons to the hospital so that open-heart surgery could be performed locally for the first time. He also played a key role in bringing the Quillen College of Medicine to East Tennessee State University and later served on the medical faculty for years, helping train the next generation of physicians.

Throughout his career he received numerous honors recognizing his leadership and dedication to patient care. Among these were Physician of the Year in 1989, the Tennessee Hospital Association's Meritorious Service Award in 1991, Health Care Heroes recognition from Wellmont Health System in 1997, and the 2002 Holston Valley Skilled Nursing Staff Award honoring "the most dedicated caring physician that has ever graced the floors of Holston Valley Hospital." In 2003 he was named a Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow, and in 2015 he was inducted into the Dobyns-Bennett High School Alumni Hall of Fame, along with countless other recognitions reflecting the decades he devoted to improving healthcare in Northeast Tennessee.

While Dr. Carter's professional accomplishments were many, those who knew him best remember his deep love for his family and his hometown. Dr. Carter married his high school sweetheart, Janet Carpenter Carter. Janet was fourteen and Locke was sixteen when they began dating, beginning a love story that would last a lifetime. Together they built a life centered on family, faith, and service to their community.

He loved Dobyns-Bennett football and rarely missed a Friday night game. After the games, friends and family often gathered at the Carter home for fried chicken, ham biscuits, and the late news to watch the highlights and learn the scores from around the region. Saturdays meant traveling to Knoxville to cheer on his beloved Tennessee Volunteers.

He treasured Thursday afternoon golf games with his closest friends, followed by dinner and evenings filled with music and dancing. Locke and his wife Janet were wonderful dancers, and at weddings the dance floor would often clear so guests could watch them jitterbug.

Family traditions were central to his life. He loved Christmas mornings filled with memorable surprises for his children and grandchildren. He cherished time spent at the family lake house on Boone Lake and treasured beach trips to Pawley's Island, a family tradition that has spanned more than eighty years.

He especially loved Nedalocke Farm, where he spent his childhood riding horses with his brothers. The farm was the setting for countless gatherings of family and friends and the many cousins who were more like siblings. Janet and Locke eventually made the farm their home, and the cherished memories continued for their children, grandchildren, and extended family who still return there for reunions and celebrations. In recent years, his greatest joy in life besides his Janet, was his relationship with his incredible grandchildren.

Dr. Carter deeply loved his work and the people with whom he served. The physicians, nurses, and hospital staff who worked beside him at Holston Valley were not only colleagues but dear friends who became family over the years.

The family would also like to express their sincere gratitude to the physicians and caregivers in Knoxville, Tennessee, who cared for Dr. Carter with the same compassion and dedication he showed his own patients throughout his career.

Dr. Carter was preceded in death by his parents, Clara and Ed Carter, and his brothers, Alex Carter and Ned Carter.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Janet Carpenter Carter; his children, Yancey Carter (Ruthie), Clark Carter (Kimberly), and Angela Carter Zion (Brett); his grandchildren, Will Duncan (Jessie), Christopher Zion (Tori), Clara Zion, Blake Carter, and Caroline Carter; and his many beloved nieces and nephews and countless cousins.

The family will hold a private interment at Oak Hill Memorial Park on Monday, March 30, 2026.

A public visitation will follow from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. A funeral service celebrating his life will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the church.

Following the service, a private celebration of his life for close friends and family will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Nedalocke Farm, 341 Bridwell Heights Road, Kingsport, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 161 E Ravine Rd, Kingsport, TN 37660, or Holston Valley Medical Center Fund, 130 W Ravine Rd., Kingsport, TN 37660.

Please visit www.hamlettdobson.com to leave an online condolence for the family.