William Starr Carter

William “Billy” Starr Carter was the adopted son of Kathleen and Tim Carter. A Tompkinsville, Kentucky, native, Billy attended WKU, where he was pursuing a degree in agriculture. He was also a director of the People’s Bank of Tompkinsville. He passed away of leukemia during his junior year on February 19, 1977, at the age of 22.

To honor his memory, Kathleen and Tim established the William Starr Carter Memorial Scholarship Fund in 1980. The fund assists deserving WKU students who are majoring in agriculture, health professions, science, mathematics, or English, in that particular order of preference. Through this fund, Billy’s legacy on the Hill continues in perpetuity.