John S. Carter Jr., an inventor, entrepreneur and industrialist who built an East Providence company into a world-renowned brand, sold it, and devoted his life to philanthropy, has died. He was 83.
Carter, of Providence and Little Compton, and his wife, Letitia, founded Electron Fusion Devices, a company that employed almost 300 workers in the U.S., Britain and France. Carter started the business with $1,000 in his basement in the early 1960s and sold it for $280 million in 2000.
“John asked a lot of himself, and the organizations he supported,” said David Beauchesne, executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, one of the many organizations Carter supported with his time and money. “He was a teacher and a taskmaster, a mentor and critic, and a friend.”
Among the Rhode Island non-profit organizations he steered and contributed to were: Women & Infants Hospital, Rhode Island Public Radio, Meeting Street School, Community Prep, the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the Paul Cuffee School, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Brown University and, especially, the Rhode Island Foundation.
“John told me that one of the happiest days of his life was signing checks to all 280 employees, giving them a share of the profits from the sale (of EFD),” said Beauchesne. “He was particularly proud to fulfill his promise to all the senior managers that if they stuck with EFD they would become millionaires.”
The Carters invested half of the profits from the sale of the company into a family foundation that donated millions to Rhode Island institutions.
A Williams College graduate, Carter held many patents. His company became the world’s leading producer of precision industrial dispensing syringes and valves, eventually generating more than $60 million in annual revenue.
At Rhode Island Public Radio, Carter served as an active member of the board, serving on the board’s Finance Committee. He and his wife were instrumental in the station’s capital campaign that led to the purchase of the 102.7 FM signal.
The Carters were integral to the RI Foundation’s Innovation Fellowships program, which is now in its seventh year. That effort provides “genius grants” to young Rhode Island entrepreneurs.
“Letitia and I strongly believe in the power of everyday Rhode Islanders to address the issues that affect our state,’’ Carter said recently, in a statement from the foundation. “We are committed to making this a better place to live and hope the public is inspired to submit proposals with the promise to lead the way.”
John Carter was a pilot and Letitia is a musician and pianist. “He and Letitia took a great deal of pride in creating opportunities for children and adults through education and the arts,” said Beauchesne.
Carter Center, the home of the Philharmonic Music School, is named for the Carters.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline said that Carter embodied, “the ideals of service and civic leadership that all of us should aspire to…there are few organizations that have not benefited from his endless generosity.”
In a 2012 interview with the Providence Journal, Carter said, “the next generation of entrepreneurs must think positively. Rhode Island was founded on hope.”
He also told the newspaper that year that, “you can’t take it with you.”
Carter leaves his wife, four children and four grandchildren.
“He and Letitia, they are just wonderful people,” said John Hazen White Jr., president and CEO of TACO, a Cranston-based manufacturing company. As a young man, White was a neighbor of the Carters on Rumstick Point in Barrington.
“They were very generous. Anytime anyone asked, they gave,” said White, who worked with Carter on matters at the philharmonic. “He was just an awful nice guy.”
According to Carter’s obituary, a celebration of his life will be held at the convenience of the family. Condolences may be left at monahandrabblesherman.com
