Vanessa Kay Carter

Vanessa Kay Carter, age 73 of Smith Mountain Lake died Sunday, October 23, 2022. She was born on August 21, 1949 in Elkin, North Carolina and was a 1967 honor graduate of Northside High School and graduate of National Business College. She was co-owner of Carter’s Fine Jewelers and Gifts in Rocky Mount, VA and also owned and operated Merle Norman Studio, Franklin County. Vanessa was an avid gardener and had many beautiful plants. She was a third-generation quilter who taught her daughter how to quilt and in the last years her mother and her had collaborated on quilt projects. She also made many gifts for friends and family. Vanessa was very artistic and enjoyed all types of art and music.  This love of music lead her to play in the bell choir at her church, Rocky Mount United Methodist. She had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed good times with the many friends she made over the years. Vanessa never met a dog she didn’t like and they all loved her. She always put family first and was always very generous to her niece, nephew, and grandson. Vanessa was preceded in death by her grandparents, Walter F. Carter, Sr. and Alice Hinson Carter of State Road, NC, Claude Gilmore Pardue, Sr. and Nannie Gentry Pardue of Sparta, NC. Surviving are her daughter, Courtney Dagger (Thomas); and grandson, Colin of Greensboro, NC; parents, Bennie F. and Irene Carter of Boones Mill, VA; brother, Mike Carter (Chris Anne) Rocky Mount, VA; nephew, Blake Hanes Carter (Hilary) of Roanoke, VA; niece, Jenni McClure (Danny) and Abby, Evelyn, Lila and Parker of Radford, VA; and numerous cousins. The family is requesting no food or flowers. Would appreciate donations to Planned Pethood Franklin County in honor of Vanessa’s memory and her “Lola”. A service will be held 12 noon Saturday in the Chapel of Devotion Mausoleum at Mountain View Memorial Park with Rev. Will Waller officiating. Her family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. prior to the service at Flora Funeral Service and Cremation Center, Rocky Mount.