[Obituary - Bio]
Victor M. Carter, who rose from poor immigrant boy to become a creator and shaper of the post-World War II Jewish community in Los Angeles, died March 27, at the age of 94.
Two of his longtime friends, Herbert Gelfand and Edward Sanders, described Carter in almost identical words: "He was an absolute giant in philanthropy, business and Jewish leadership."
Born in Rostov-on-Don in Russia, Victor arrived in the United States at age 11 as Victor Kartozynsky, went to work full time in his father's downtown hardware store at 16, and married his lifelong love and teammate Adrea (Zucker) at age 18.
At 19, he went into business for himself, opening the original do-it-yourself hardware store, which evolved into Builder's Emporium.
He is listed with Andrea, his wife of 2 yrs in 1930, along with 10 month old Robert.
He switched careers in the late 1950s to become president and CEO of Republic Pictures.
Carter retired in 1967 to devote himself to the betterment of his city, the Jewish community and the State of Israel.
"Victor was involved in every cause and supported Israel from its very inception," recalled his friend, Bram Goldsmith.
Carter served as president of the Jewish Federation Council and the Jewish Community Foundation and held leadership posts in support of Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion and Brandeis universities, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Israel Bonds and Histadrut.
Equally far-reaching was his involvement in city government and in the African American, Hispanic and Asian communities.
"He was a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party and Bill Clinton," said his granddaughter, Dr. Leigh Silverton. "He cared about feminism, because he understood the oppression that women suffer."
Silverton added: "My grandpa did have one fault. He lacked the sophistication that hardens some people to suffering."
She continued her recollections: "Toward the end of his life, Grandpa lost his speech. On the last occasion I was with him and Grandma before this happened, my grandma and he were discussing possible contributions to a group in need. My grandma asked him, 'What do you think, Victor?'
"Grandpa said, 'We should take care of them.' Those were the last words I heard my grandpa say."
Services were held Wednesday at Mount Sinai Memorial Parks & Mortuaries in Hollywood Hills.
Carter is survived by his wife, Andrea; daughter, Dr. Fanya (Dr. Jack Delchamps); granddaughters, Sheri and Dr. Leigh Silverton and Robin (Richard) Buckner; great-grandchildren, Devin, Katherine and William; and sister, Bella Gans.

[Obituary] Los Angeles Daily News - Mar. 30 to Mar. 31, 2004
VICTOR M. CARTER A life-long community volunteer, he has been involved in activities that have gained him the deserved reputation as a community, national and international humanitarian. All facets of the community benefited from Mr. Carter's enlightened leadership. He has committed himself to improving the social service, educational and cultural climate of the Greater Los Angeles region and his many years of volun teer involvement have produced significant positive change in the quality of life, primarily among various nationalities that make up this vast melting pot. During Victor Carter's terms as Fire Commissioner, the department was integrated, equal treatment for all members was established, and those practicing racial discrimination were removed from office. In the early 1960's he became an active member of the Urban League and the NAACP. His leadership role in those organizations lead to his appointm ent of a citizen's committee formed to improve relations between the Police Department, Sheriff's Office and the Black community which brought sweeping changes to these law enforcement bodies and he was credited with relieving tensions that threatened open violence in the community. He has been primarily involved with providing educational and training opportunities to young people who may have been subject to discrimination in the past. Mr. Carter helped establish an office and community center for SL ANT (Self Leadership of All Nationalities Today) whose purpose was to take young men off the street, away from gang influence and open up training and employment opportunities for them. He also helped initiate Operation Bootstrap, created to train Blacks for better industrial jobs. He also served as co-chairman of the Interracial Council for Business Opportunity, which matched successful heads of local Anglo businesses with minorities interested in establishing their own businesses. It was Victor Carte r who spearheaded the Anglo community to respond to the national Black equality movement. When Medgar Evers was assassinated, he assisted in arrangements to establish a scholarship fund for the Evers children. When Martin Luther King began his equal rights crusade, Mr. Carter organized local leaders to support the cause. When 12 busloads bound for the great March on Washington were about to be cancelled for lack of funds, it was Mr. Carter who raised the money to finance the Los Angeles marchers. In ad dition to his leadership role in the Black community, Mr. Carter is considered the elder statesman of the Jewish community, both locally and in Israel. His voluntary ties to his homeland helped establish a kindergarten in a Druze village, a public recreation park in Jerusalem, the development of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. He was a primary mover of Musrara, Los Angeles' matched community in Project Renewal. He made frequent visits to the village where he would consult with struggling workers to obtain b usiness loans, job training and resolve personal problems. Mr. Carter's volunteer efforts have also been directed toward the Japanese community. For several years he served as president of the Japan-America Society and promoted international relations between the two countries. He inaugurated the Society's annual debutante ball, and helped to found the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra in Los Angeles - the only one outside of Japan. During the 1970's when the Los Angeles community witnessed a tremen dous growth in the Hispanic community, this group remained virtually unrepresented in the democratic process. Because of Victor Carter's long-time support of minority issues, he became a leading force in the development of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Through the years, Mr. Carter's continued involvement in advancing the needs and concerns of the Black, Jewish, Asian and Hispanic communities has earned him a global reputation as an international crusader for human rights. In 1969 Mr. Carter responded to a summons from the White House to become a director and member of the Finance Committee of the National Program for Voluntary Action - a federally sponsored group seeking to maximize private involvement in voluntary efforts to solve public problems in America. While working at his father's hardware store - he met his wife Adrea (whose father was a customer at the store). They were married more than 75 years. He eventually left his father's employ to embark on hi s own - first starting a window sash company. This was the beginning of a successful business career that included the founding of Builder's Emporium - the first self-service hardware store in the country, a concept he developed. Among his other business ventures was his purchase of Republic Pictures, which then became Republic Corporation. By applying the business and leadership skills to the needs of others, Victor Carter has been able to bring about positive change for countless individuals. He has done more than volunteer his time to those in need; he has volunteered his life to achieving equality for all people. Former Member, Board of Harbor Commissioners, Los Angeles. Former President and member of the Los Angeles City Fire Department Commission. Former Director of the Board, Southern California Rapid Transit District. Honorary Directory (formerly Vice-Chairman) Community Television of Southern California, KCET. Chairman Emeritus/Founder American Friends of Tel Aviv University. Director Ben G urion University. Fellow Brandeis University. Former Director Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Former President, now Honorary Life President and Director City of Hope. Director Holy Land Conservation Fund. Former Chairman International Israel Economic Conference/Jerusalem/United States Section 1967 - 1973. Vice-President Israel Histradrut Campaign. Former President Japan American Society of Southern California. Former President Japanese Philharmonic Society. Former Member, Board of Governors Jewish Agency, Inc. Forme r President/Director Jewish Community Foundation. Former President/Director Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. Former Vice-President Los Angeles Ballet. Director Los Angeles World Affairs Coucil. Vice-President/Director Southern California Theatre Association. Former Chairman State of Israel Bond Commission/Greater Los Angeles area. Former International Chairman now Honorary chairman and Member of the Board of Directors Tel Aviv University. Life Member Town Hall. Former Chairman United Crusad e. Former Chairman United Jewish Welfare Fund, Greater Los Angeles area. Former President/Director United Way, Inc. Director Valley Presbyterian Hospital. Director Young Musician's Foundation. Founder Music Center. At the direction of the Emperor of Japan for his work toward betterment of relations between Japan and the United States of America, Victor M. Carter was awarded the "Third Order of the Imperial Treasure", (1968). At the direction of the Prime Minister of Israel, Victor M. Carter was awarded the "Sword of David", (1964). For his leadership of the American Section at the Economic Conference held in Israel in 1968, Victor M. Carter was awarded a Gold Medal by the then Prime Minster, Levi Eshkol. At the conclusion of four years as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Tel Aviv University, Victor M. Carter was awarded the degree of Doctor Philospiae Honoris Causa. In recognition of his outstanding community and philanthropic activities, Victor M. Carter was awarded the United Way of America's Centen nial Alexis de Tocqueville Award, (1988). The Victor M. Carter Humanitarian Award was created by United Way, Inc. to honor, recognize and encourage outstanding humanitarian leadership. Its purpose is to acknowledge and give recognition to the individual who has both enhanced and embraced the community and who has been the most significant contributor to improving the quality of life through bettering the relationships of all people in the Greater Los Angeles.

[Obituary] LA TIMES - APRIL 2, 2004
Victor Carter, 94; Businessman Gave Time, Money to Southland Charities
Victor M. Carter, who built a fortune in building supplies and motion pictures and spent much of it in philanthropic efforts in Southern California, has died. He was 94.
Carter died Saturday at Century City Hospital of natural causes, said his daughter, Fanya Carter.
In 1949, Carter bought an ailing Van Nuys lumber and hardware store called Builders Emporium. He built it into a leading self-serve retail operation and the biggest hardware store in the United States before selling it in 1956 to “retire.”
“I had worked very hard,” he told The Times in 1987, “and I wanted to clear my mind, get the cobwebs out and think of something new to do.”
He bought and redeveloped a shopping center in the San Fernando Valley, and in 1959 acquired controlling interest and became president and board chairman of the struggling film company Republic Pictures. He turned that company around, diversifying into plastics and appliances as well as film and studio rentals and renaming it Republic Corp., before selling his stock in 1967.
Carter over the years served as president and fundraiser of several organizations, including the United Way, the Japan American Society of Southern California, the Jewish Community Foundation and the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. He was general chairman of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, head of the State of Israel Bond Organization, founder and former chairman of the American Friends of Tel Aviv University, and chairman of the university’s international board of governors, and served on the board of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
He chose his philanthropies, he claimed, by happenstance. “People ask me,” he told The Times in 1987, “and it’s pretty hard to say no.”
Carter did indeed seem to bestow gifts eclectically -- a station wagon for the Spastic Children’s Foundation, three architecture scholarships for USC, and generous checks for the Muscular Dystrophy Appeal of Southern California after the disease killed his son.
In 1984, the Greater Los Angeles United Way created the Victor M. Carter Humanitarian Award for someone whose life is a “humbling example of public service and commitment to his fellow man.” Carter was the first recipient.
In 1987, the United Way of America presented Carter its highest honor, the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award in ceremonies at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., citing his commitment to racial equality.
As president, board chairman and a major fundraiser for the City of Hope in Duarte, Carter helped build the complex from a struggling clinic into one of the world’s principal cancer research centers. His father served as president of the City of Hope before him.

Carter was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 12. At 16, he quit school to work full time in his father’s hardware store in downtown Los Angeles. Two years later, Carter met Adrea Zucker, the daughter of a customer, and married her in Tijuana after a five-day courtship. On their 50th anniversary, they remarried at Hillcrest Country Club.
Carter left the hardware store in his late 20s to go into business for himself -- starting a firm that manufactured window sashes made from steel. As that business waned with changes in manufacturing needs during World War II, Carter moved into national sales and distribution of wall heaters and door locks. At the end of the decade, he bought Builders Emporium.
In addition to his wife of 75 years and his daughter, Carter is survived by a sister, Bella Gans; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.