Carter Mayberry, MD

I was born in the “old” Benson Hospital, where the library is now. For old-timers, I was delivered by Dr. Max Kartchner. I am the seventh of nine children of Jim and Gwen Mayberry. I grew up on a small farm in St. David, where I attended grades 1-12. Kindergarten was only held in “far-away” Benson, so I did not attend that.

After high school I attended the University of Arizona for one year, then served a Church mission in Venezuela for 19 months. Upon returning, I graduated from UofA in 1986 with a degree in animal sciences; I knew I wanted to return to St. David, so I wanted to earn a degree that would help me in that regard. Besides, I just felt more “comfortable” around people involved in agriculture.

I then attended UofA Medical School. I took a year off to train for distance cycling events in the 1988 Olympics; I did not qualify, but I learned a lot in the process! I graduated in 1991, then completed my family medicine internship in Rockford, Illinois. I finished the last two years of my residency in Denver, Colorado.

I worked for four years on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, AZ. This enabled me to pay off some loans and to get some experience and confidence before returning to the San Pedro Valley in 1998 to care for my “home folks.”

Our son, Ashton, died of suicide in January 2014. This has been a “watershed” event for me. I am grateful for the love and support of so many people in the San Pedro Valley since that tragic day. I feel like I have learned many things since Ashton’s suicide, including greater compassion for others who are struggling in whatever way.

I am married to the former Faye Richardson. We have four children and eight grandchildren. I enjoy cycling, hiking and gardening. Faye and I served an 18-month mission in Lima, Peru, where we supervised the health and safety of about 1500 young missionaries serving in the northwest portion of South America. That mission ended October 2018. Starting December 2019, we served another 18-month mission, this time in Auckland, New Zealand, with responsibilities for the young missionaries in the south-Pacific islands.