Jane R. Carter

JANE R. CARTER – 93 Years
4.2.1932 – 10.6.2025

Jane Royer Carter departed this life on October 6, 2025. She was born on April 2, 1932, in Elmhurst, Illinois, to Kenneth and Irma Royer. When Jane was four years old the Royer family, including her brother Ken and sister Carolyn, moved to Mayville, Wisconsin where they founded the Purity Cheese Company. The family business became known for producing the first constant-weight specialty cheese in the United States under the May-Bud brand.

Her family instilled in her a lifelong appreciation for nature and caring for others. Jane’s strong work ethic, intelligence, and gift for words made her a role model for women in business, entrepreneurship, and service where she devoted herself wholeheartedly to her communities where she lived and worked.

Jane graduated from Mayville High School in 1950 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing Pathology and French from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1954. That same year, on September 18th, she married the love of her life Daniel Joseph Carter.

Jane served as a Speech and Hearing Pathologist for more than 25 years. She began her career in the Washington, D.C. area before moving with Dan to Princeton, New Jersey, where they welcomed their son Brad, and daughter Susan. In 1966, the Carter family returned to Mayville, where Jane continued her work in speech pathology—first in the Mayville Public Schools, later with the Tri-County Cooperative Education Service Agency and eventually in her own home. She retired from teaching in 1979 but remained an honorary lifetime member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

In 1975 Jane and Dan co-founded Dan Carter, Inc., a successful national food marketing and dairy consulting firm, where she served as Vice President of Operations for 23 years until her retirement in 1998. Jane and Dan were not finished contributing to Wisconsin dairy products. They helped establish the Dairy Business Innovation Center, an initiative to strengthen Wisconsin’s dairy industry to which Jane contributed countless volunteer hours.

Service, community, and faith were central to Jane’s life. She served on the Mayville Area Chamber of Commerce, which named her Citizen of the Year in 1995. A nature enthusiast, Jane led volunteer recruitment for the Friends of the Horicon Marsh International Education Center, earning recognition as Volunteer of the Year in 2000. Jane was also honored as a Distinguished Alumni of Mayville High School in 2021. A lifelong United Methodist member, Jane was deeply involved in the Mayville congregation. Over the years, she served as Church School Superintendent, Bible Study leader, choir member, United Methodist Women’s president, Lay Delegate to Annual Conference, Lay Leader, and camp counselor for children of incarcerated parents.

Beyond her professional and volunteer commitments, Jane cherished reading and writing, gardening, traveling, playing bridge, and welcoming friends and colleagues into her home where her legendary cheese soufflé often took center stage at gatherings.

Jane lived 93 full marvelous years before she succumbed to the rapid onset of Lewy Body Dementia. Jane was preceded in death by her husband Daniel Joseph Carter, her parents Kenneth and Irma Royer, her brother Ken Royer, and numerous beloved family and friends.

She is survived by her son Brad (Loretta) Carter, her daughter Susan (Stephen) Muller, her grandchildren Elizabeth (Steven) Coniglio, and Thomas (Suzanne) Muller, plus her great-granddaughter Taylor Carter Coniglio. She is also survived by her sister Carolyn Jacobus, her sister-in-law Amber Carter, and many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.

On Saturday, November 8th a service will be held at Mayville United Methodist Church at 11 am followed by a Celebration of Life at the Mayville Golf Club from 12:30 to 4:00 pm. All who knew Jane are warmly invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Friends of Horicon Marsh. Please send donations through the Horicon Marsh website https://horiconmarsh.org or mail to Friends of Horicon Marsh ℅ Carter Memorial, N7725 State Highway 28, Horicon, WI 53032.