State champ Okarche coach, 79, dies

Bobby S. Carter, the coach of the Okarche boys’ lone state championship team in basketball, died Thursday, Dec. 23, in Elk City.

He was 79 years old.

Services were Tuesday, Dec. 28, in Hammon.

Carter coached Okarche for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s.

That included the 1979 team that defeated Turner 65- 61 in overtime to win the Class A state championship.That came after a state runner-up finish in 1978.

Born in Moorewood, Carter graduated from Hammon High School in 1960.

His coaching career began in Tyrone.

He was there for three years before accepting the Okarche job prior to the 1969-70 season.

After Okarche, Carter was at Cheyenne for 10 years and Corn Bible Academy for two years before retiring in 1999.

Carter and all but four members of the state title team reunited in Okarche in April 2019 to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the championship.

In all, nearly 70 of his former players were on hand.

“It was such a great time catching up,” said Carter, who lived in Hammon at the time. “There were such great people here.”

Nick Kretchmar was named to the all-tournament team in 1970 and was on hand for the 2019 gathering.

“I believe Coach Carter had a great influence on our success,” Kretchmar said. “He could be hard on us in practice at times, but he just wanted us to give it our best in order to be successful.”

Larry Annuschat’s brothers – Nick and Ron, both of whom have since passed away – were a part of the championship team and he later played for Carter.

“When he left, I felt like I lost more than a coach,” Annuschat said. “I lost a mentor. He meant a lot to me and this entire community.”

Among Carter’s survivors is his wife of 59 years, Mary John; sons John Carter and Dean Carter, daughter Joy Harrison, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A full obituary can be found on Page 11.