Dr. Stephen Francis Carver, optometrist and musician, died at 77

Dr. Stephen Francis Carver O.D., an optometrist who practiced in Bentonville and Santa Fe and played in the band Renegade, died peacefully in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on September 27, 2026, at age 77.

Born in Mena, Arkansas, on October 23, 1948, Carver was a descendant of Ambrose H. Sevier of Sevier County, Tennessee. He attended the University of Arkansas, joined Phi Kappa Alpha, and later graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in West Memphis in 1972 before opening his first private practice in Bentonville. He stepped away from optometry temporarily to work at the Swingin’ Door on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, where he socialized with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Guy Clark.

Optometry Career Across Arkansas and Santa Fe Reservations

Carver enlisted in the U.S. Public Health Service in 1978 to provide eye care to Native Americans on the Rosebud, San Carlos, and Dulce reservations. He transferred to the Santa Fe Indian Hospital in 1979, where he met his future wife, Laura. He subsequently opened his private practice, Santa Fe Eyes, in 1985. After retiring from optometry, the couple moved back to Fayetteville in 2015.

Outside of his medical practice, Carver was a classical pianist who performed keyboard for the local band Renegade, known for the song “Spoon Fish.” He spent his leisure time backpacking and fly-fishing along the Mora River, skiing at Ski Santa Fe, playing golf, and cheering for Razorback football.

Surviving Family and Memorial Services in Santa Fe

Carver was preceded in death by his parents, Richard Addison and Frances Avery Carver, sister Clayta Jane and her husband, John Penn Scott, and brothers William Sam, Robert Avery, James Richard, and Michael Addison. He is survived by his wife, Laura; children Lindsay Avery and David Edward Carver; brother David Mark Carver; sister-in-law Elizabeth Clarice Carver; and numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A celebration of life and inurnment is scheduled for December 7, 2026, at 2:45 p.m. at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be directed to the Santa Fe Girls School, a non-profit institution co-founded by Laura Carver in 2020.