Obituaries : Dr. Robert Vernon Carter; Retired Physician

Dr. Robert Vernon Carter, a Tarzana general practitioner for more than 40 years, has died at UCLA Medical Center. He was 81.

A longtime resident of Woodland Hills, Carter died Wednesday of complications of lung disease, said his son, William W. Carter.

Born July 11, 1909, in Rockford, Ill., Carter graduated from the University of Illinois School of Medicine in 1935. He completed his internship in Santa Barbara and in 1938 opened his first office in Tarzana. His practice was interrupted from 1942 to 1946 when he served as a flight surgeon in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he returned to Tarzana, where he practiced until he retired in 1980.

Carter also served as chief examiner for the Los Angeles area Selective Service Board during the 1940s and early 1950s and was senior examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s. He was president of the Tarzana Chamber of Commerce in 1939 and 1940, and a longtime member of the Tarzana Rotary Club and the Los Angeles Medical Assn.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Helen Carter; sons, William W. Carter of Woodland Hills, Jon C. Carter of Renton, Wash., and Robert E. Carter of Chino; a daughter, Barbara Carter of Thousand Oaks; nine grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Pierce Brothers-Praiswater Mortuary, 7245 Remmet Ave., Canoga Park. Donations can be made in Carter’s name to the American Lung Assn.