Equilla Joy Parkhurst Carter - July 5, 1931 - April 9, 2019

Equilla Joy Parkhurst Carter, 87, passed away on the morning of April 9, 2019. She was born on July 5, 1931, in Cascade, Montana, to Edward Parkhurst and Ida Ware Parkhurst, baby sister to two sisters and two brothers. She moved with her family from Montana to the Vale area when she was 4 years old, where her father farmed east of Vale. She attended White Settlement School from the first through eighth grade. She attended Vale High School and graduated in 1949.

Shortly after graduation, she married Donald E. Carter in the Methodist Church in Vale and lived with him on a farm east of Vale for their entire married life of nearly 60 years. Equilla had two children, Keith Carter, born in 1950 and Cynthia Carter Freeman, born in 1954. She also had two grandchildren, Rachael and Fletcher, and one great-granddaughter, Equilla, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Equilla was a homemaker for many years and worked in retail for about 20 years, starting in 1970 at what was then Skagg’s Drug Store. Equilla was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church. She taught Sunday School to all ages from kindergarten to high school over the years, and was Sunday School Superintendent for 10 years. She was known for her beautiful embroidery work and at the church’s Lord’s Acre sale; the buyers would get in line early to be able to purchase her beautiful work. She was a 4-H leader for 15 years, teaching many small girls how to cook and sew, including her daughter, Cynthia. She was a Vale Grange member from 1950 to 1970.

Equilla’s husband, Don, passed away in 2009. Equilla continued living on the farm until the fall of 2015 when she moved to Pioneer Place assisted living. She had lived in the same house on the farm for more than 65 years.

Equilla was preceded in death by her husband, Don; parents, Ida and Edward Parkhurst; sisters, Evelyn Fifer and Genadean Foiles; and brothers Lloyd Parkhurst and Mayfred Parkhurst.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Pioneer Place Assisted Living for their love and care, and also Signature Hospice nurses and staff for their compassion, pastoral care, and social services visits. She appreciated each and every one.

A graveside service will be held, Friday, April 19, at 2 p.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery in Ontario. The service will be followed by a reception at the Butte Baptist Church, on Highway 20-26 between Vale and Ontario.