Ines Edna Carter

Ines E. Carter was born on March 13, 1928, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, the first child of Veronica Frances Landeau and Eduardo Hospadeles. She was the eldest of eight siblings—Roy, Catheline, Arturo, Ines, Betty, Josefina, and Juan. At the age of four, she went to live with her grandmother Albertina in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where she developed the spirited personality, her family would fondly remember for decades. She returned to Venezuela at age twelve to rejoin her mother and siblings.

At twenty, Ines began working as a bilingual operator, helping support her family while enjoying a vibrant social life with her dear friends Lynn, Gladys, Elda, and Chinka. She loved to dance—especially to Salsa—and her weekends were filled with music, friendship, and laughter. Through her friend Lynn Thompson, she was introduced to Egbert Samuel “Bert” Carter of Trinidad, as a pen pal. Their letters blossomed into a deep friendship over two years.

Ines traveled to the United States to see whether she would like living in America, staying with her dad’s sister, Aunt Hilda in Harlem, New York just across the street from Central Park. In 1957, she visited Trinidad to finally meet Bert in person for the first time, then returned to Harlem, where Aunt Hilda introduced her to the Seventh‑day Adventist faith. Bert later came to the U.S to study at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Every weekend he would make the trip to New York to visit Ines. The two were married on December 21, 1958, in Harlem and eventually settled in Washington, D.C., where they built their life together for thirty years and welcomed their children, Esther, Rachel, and David.

In 1960, encouraged by her friend Toni Markland, Ines applied for and secured a bilingual operator position at the Inter‑American Development Bank. She worked there faithfully for 29 years until her retirement in 1989. After retiring, Ines and Bert moved to Port Charlotte, Florida, and became U.S. citizens in 1991. Bert passed away in November 2006. In 2013, Ines returned to the Washington, D.C. area to be closer to her children, grandchildren, great‑grandchildren, siblings, and many dear friends.

Faith was the foundation of Ines’s life. Her commitment to the Seventh‑day Adventist Church spanned decades, and she joyfully served in numerous roles—especially in children’s ministries at First SDA, Sligo SDA, in the Washington DC area, and later Port Charlotte SDA. She poured love, compassion, and patience into every child she taught and every life she touched.

Ines lived with grace, style, humor, kindness, and an unwavering faith in God. Her legacy is one of family, service, and a life beautifully and purposefully lived.

Ines went to rest in the Lord on March 3, 2026. She leaves to cherish her memory her sisters, Ines Best and Josefina Best; her children, Esther Carter (Dwayne), Rachel Johnson (Michael), and David Carter (Linda); her grandchildren, Greg Carter Hewitt, Tiffhane Hewitt, Andrew Hewitt, Faith Carter, and Danielle Johnson; and her great‑grandchildren, Austin, Jaxsen, Makaila, Madison, Riley, and Noel. Ines is also lovingly remembered by countless nieces, nephews, godchildren, friends, and all whose lives she touched.