Carter Glass Obituary

Glass
CARTER MONROE GLASS
February 18, 1935 April 1, 2019
Carter was born in Hooks, Texas, son of Irl Denton Glass (1898 - 1988) and Nora Mae Bradford (1898 - 1987). Irl worked for the T&P Railroad company, first in west Texas, then in Hooks. Carter's four older siblings, Irl Bradford Glass Neilon (Aunt Baba) (1918 - 2017), Nan Laura Glass Allen Leito (1920 - 1966), McDuffie Elisha (Buddy) Glass (1923 - 1949), and Marilyn Sue Glass Ellison (1933 - 2010), predeceased him.
The valedictorian of his 1953 high school class, Carter had the highest scholastic average in the history of Hooks High School. He lettered in basketball, baseball, track, and tennis, was the co-editor of the high school annual, and was vice-president of the student council.
Carter received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and graduated with distinction in 1957. His yearbook entry stated From deep in the heart of Texas and armed with a copy of "Texas Brags," Carter came to USNA. Although "Tex" came directly from Hooks High School, he earned his stars plebe year and kept them throughout his stay at the Academy. Always on the ball and never behind it, he distinguished himself with the P. T. Department, and was always in there hustling for some team in the company after class. After evening chow you could generally find him tangled up in a game of chess or bridge. He usually spent his Saturdays supporting Navy teams and Sundays checking up on the Southwest Conference scores.
Upon graduation, Carter was commissioned into the United States Air Force. He met his future wife, Gayle Schoenfeldt (1934 - 2015), by accidentally getting off on the wrong floor of his apartment building and entering her room by mistake. Carter and Gayle were married May 31, 1958. He was posted to Eglin AFB in Florida where their son Carter Martin Glass (1960 - 2017) was born. During a posting at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, their daughter Julia Kay Glass Thomas was born (1962). They moved to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where Carter taught math and electrical engineering. Carter earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver in 1968. His thesis was entitled Reduction and synthesis of linear time-varying systems.
His 1976 textbook, Linear Systems, was used in many college and university mathematics and engineering courses throughout the world. During his time in the Air Force, Carter was posted in Pakistan, teaching at the Pakistani Air Force Academy, and later in the Philippines, at their Air Force Academy. He retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1979.
After leaving the Air Force, Carter worked for Martin Marietta in Litchfield Park, AZ, designing the mathematics used in radar systems. He wrote many technical articles and earned several patents (most classified), including a "Method and System for Two-Dimensional Interferometric Radiometry" for imaging a planetary surface region of interest (ROI). In a primary application, a plurality of space vehicles having antennas mounted thereupon are utilized to collect thermal radiation emitted from the ROI and generate corresponding thermal emission signals. (1999). He continued working in the field after his retirement from Lockheed, consulting for Lockheed Martin in Colorado Springs and Reston, VA, Radiant Blue Technologies in Chantilly, VA and Goodyear Aerospace in Colorado Springs.
Carter enjoyed games of mental skill. In 1964 Carter played in a simultaneous chess competition against US Champion Bobby Fischer. The game ended in a draw and earned him a smile from the champion. An avid outdoorsman, Carter competed in over ten marathons (including the Pikes Peak Marathon), was a member of hiking clubs and climbed every 14-er in Colorado. He often fished in the Academy lake, foraged for berries for homemade wine, and continued to walk several miles on the treadmill every day.
Gayle, his wife of 58 years, died in 2015 and Carter then moved to Liberty Heights in Colorado Springs. As he was being introduced to another resident, the "best bridge player here," Carter quipped, "Not anymore." Gauntlet thrown! He enjoyed playing in the bridge, poker, and chess groups. His daughter, Julie, joined him for weekend brunches and dinner out with the Gourmet Club. Carter and fellow resident " Dottie" hit the dance floor on Friday nights for happy hour, sharing many interests and activities together.
Carter is survived by his daughter, Julia Glass Thomas of Colorado Springs, his daughter-in-law, Dale Soutter Glass of Potomac, Maryland, his four granddaughters, Caitlin Thomas Dald of VA, Mirelle Thomas of Denver CO, Lelia Glass of Atlanta, GA, and Emma Glass of Rosslyn, VA. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Carol Schoenfeldt Hunton of Kansas City, KS, and Kathy Schoenfeldt Kupinski of Noblesville, IN and their families, many nieces and nephews, and their families.
May his soul, and the souls of all the departed, rest in peace and rise in glory.