Carl Notter heralded from a tradition of military service.  Growing up, his dad, a World War II combat veteran and Philadelphia entrepreneur, told stories of brutal combat in the Second World War.  Carl’s father, Carl Sr., served as a tanker in the Battle of Normandy and survived subsequent battles to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny, earning three Purple Hearts.  After graduating from the Milton Hershey School of Pennsylvania in 1967, Carl joined the Army at the age of 17 and served for 42 years, retiring as a Master Sergeant.  When Carl was not on active duty, he found time to serve as a Philadelphia Mounted Police Officer, patrolling some of the toughest neighborhoods of Philadelphia and retiring after twenty years.  Carl was a force to be reckoned with.  He had a strong passion for causes he believed in and a powerful will to live his best life.  He was a master of his own destiny.  Carl’s interests were as broad as his natural intellect and curiosity.   While Carl was no stranger to combat, and worked his entire life to make America and the world a safer place, he had a passion for organic gardening, nutrition, volunteering on local farms, and self-sustaining technologies such as wind and solar.  Carl began one of the first food co-ops in Philadelphia in the early 1980s in Powelton Village, West Philadelphia, jump-starting an inner-city movement.

Carl sought difficult assignments his entire life, where he could affect positive change while learning from, and mentoring, those around him.  As an Airborne Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, Master Sergeant Notter served around the world, from South America, to Europe to Central Asia.  At the age of 59, life found Carl as a Special Forces Sergeant leading troops in Afghanistan where he out-ran, out-shot and out-fought troops a third of his age.  Carl was not an aficionado of medals and decorations, but as a recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge he was (and will forever remain) a proud member of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association.  Carl will be greatly missed by his friends, family and all those whose lives he touched during his time on earth.  To all of those he loved, and loved him, Carl might close with a Native American Indian Prayer.

"When I am dead, cry for me a little.  Think of me sometimes, but not too much.  It is not good for you to dwell too long.  Think of me now and again as I was in life, at some moment which is pleasant to recall, but not for too long.  Leave me in peace as I shall leave you, too, in peace.”

In Carl’s own words, "Out Here, Notter!”