Key keywords: Kerrville flooding fatality, 2024 Hill Country flash flood, swept away home flood victim, Kerrville legendary community member, Texas flood casualty, family confirms flood death, Guadalupe River flood disaster A beloved 68-year-old Kerrville resident identified by family as Raymond “Ray” Carter has died after his Guadalupe River-side home was completely swept away by record-breaking flash floods that hit the Texas Hill Country last week, his relatives confirmed in a public statement Tuesday. Carter, who ran Carter’s Hardware in downtown Kerrville for 42 years and was widely known across the community for his decades of volunteer work and generous support for local youth programs, was described by loved ones as “a true legend” who spent his entire life lifting up the people around him. The catastrophic flooding event was triggered by 11 inches of torrential rain that fell over a 6-hour period last Tuesday night, pushing Guadalupe River water levels 3.2 feet above the existing flood levee, marking the highest water level recorded in the area since 1936. Local emergency management issued mandatory evacuation orders for riverfront neighborhoods 90 minutes before the floodwaters peaked, but family members say Carter chose to return to his home of 32 years after dropping his granddaughter off at a higher-ground evacuation shelter, hoping to rescue his 10-year-old service dog, a golden retriever named Max, and boxes of photo albums documenting his 45-year marriage to his late wife Susan, who passed away in 2023. Search and rescue teams launched a large-scale search effort Wednesday morning, and Carter’s remains were recovered 2 miles downstream from his property Wednesday afternoon. His service dog Max is still missing, and local volunteers have continued to search the riverbanks for the animal over the past week. Tributes have poured in across Kerrville since news of Carter’s death spread, with hundreds of residents leaving flowers, handwritten notes and old photos outside his closed hardware store. Carter was known for giving free tools and building materials to low-income families repairing their homes, donating all concession profits from his store to local youth sports leagues, and distributing free hand sanitizer, masks and water to elderly residents during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns and 2021 winter storm. Carter’s family has launched a community fundraiser in his name, with all proceeds going toward upgrading Kerrville’s flood alert system and reinforcing the Guadalupe River levees to prevent similar tragedies in the future. As of Tuesday, the fundraiser has raised over $120,000, far exceeding its initial $50,000 goal. Texas Emergency Management officials say the recent Hill Country flooding has killed at least 7 people across 4 counties, destroyed more than 80 homes, and displaced over 300 residents to date.