February 11, 2021 Vol. 21, No. 39
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4. D MON
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FAVORITES 2021 Vote for your Edmond Favorites See page 15
FRIDAY, February 12 Cloudy High 23° Low 8°
SATURDAY, February 13 AM Snow Showers High 15° Low -1°
SUNDAY, February 14 Partly Cloudy High 16° Low 7°
Life After Death
Edmond man’s time in heaven
By Steve Gust The question of life after death has been pondered by some of the world’s greatest minds since the beginning of time. Edmond’s Ron Carte is confident he has the answer. Last summer he said he died and came face-toface with God. And the creator of the universe sent him back to earth to tell everyone that God and heaven are real. Many other people claimed to have died and had similar experiences such as Carte’s. What makes Carte’s story unique is he probably one of the most down-to-earth and honest guys ever to have lived in Edmond. For decades he was well known banking executive and a fixture at most Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce events. In 1978 Ron Carte was president of the group. The scores of people who have known him, know he is honest. And prior to his own experience, Carte said he was a little skeptical of such events. His unique trip to the other side got its start last Aug. 14. Carte, 78, was doing payroll checks for a construction business near Second and Coltrane. He left there and proceeded to go north. “I was probably going about 50 miles an hour,” he recalled. In the middle of the intersection at Second and Coltrane he passed out from heart problems and his car crossed into the left lane and crashed into a tree on the other side of the road. The air bag deployed and Carte struggled to find his cell phone on the ground. He called 911. “I remember smelling gas,” he said. Soon an Edmond firefighter pulled him out of the car and he was taken for medical treatment.
He broke nine ribs and was in intense pain. The ambulance came and took
PHOTO PROVIDED
Ron Carte & wife Marie
him to Mercy Heart Hospital. There, his cardiologist decided to equip him with a pacemaker. On Aug.16, during surgery, Ron Carte was later told he had died on the operating table. “One of the nurses took my wife Marie by the arm and told her ‘I’m sorry but we lost him,’” Carte was later told by his wife of 60 years. It was horrific news for her. The couple had been married since a week after the high school sweethearts graduated. From there Carte woke up somewhere else. He remembers waking up in an old garden with a man next to an oak tree. He said the man had reddish-brown hair and beard. “He kept calling me Ronnie,” Carte said. “The only person who ever called me Ronnie was my mother.” The man took Carte by the hands and the pain in his ribs immediately vanished. “I felt an incredible peace,” he said. There was a fence and Carte asked if he was going with him. “No, I’m not ready for you yet,” the man told Carte. Then Carte felt he was dealing with more
than just a man. He asked if Ron Carte would do a favor for him. “I said ‘Yes God,’” he remembered. God made Carte promise upon his return to earth that he would tell everyone that heaven is real and God is real. With that, Carte returned back to Heart Hospital. He suffered a stroke, which left him paralyzed on the left side and unable to walk. Since then he has learned to walked by using a walker. He has one goal. “I plan to play golf again some day,” he vowed. Prior to the stroke he was accustomed to playing 18 holes regularly with friends at Oak Tree. He has told his story to friends and others including his three children and seven grandchildren. One of those grandchildren is Grant Carro, studying to be a Catholic priest in St. Louis. Carte facetimed him and saw a painting on his wall. He said a nun had also had an afterlife experience and described what God looked like to her. It was the same face that Ron Carte saw. Prior to this event, Carte had never been a religious fanatic, although he attended church and has always believed in God. “I realize now that there is a designated time for everyone to die,” he said. And he’s grateful that he was able to have the experience, although he wishes he wouldn’t have had to have suffered a stroke. “I see people out at Oak Tree walking the sidewalks and I tell them to enjoy every day and be grateful,” he said.