Born Stefan Andrzej Reicher to musical parents. His Mother (nee Pragier) was a pianist, who worked as a Spojnia school secretary and his Father (Waclaw) was a chemical engineer, who played violin. Concerts were favourite pastimes as a family trio, as well as reading, sports, and park outings. Lake and skiing vacations were special with his Aunt Pola, Uncle Edmund, an ophthalmologist, and cousins Tadeusz and Zdzich; who also beame dedicated to medical fields. They were of Jewish race but belonged to Poland culture, including their language.

Aunt Pola's family lived in Krakow but had to move to Aryan Warsaw. They were as safe as one could pray to be, hiding as Christian Poles. Stefan and his parents were confined to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, which he escaped in 1946. He and his surviving family hid for two years. After the war was over, he and his relatives changed their name to "Carter".

Stefan studied pre-medicine, until a friend and her parents sponsored him to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1948; a province he worked in extensively as a student an immediately loved. He visited Aunt Pola and Uncle Edmund in New York, USA when he became a Canadian citizen; which required being a landed resident for five years.

Stefan became a renound vascular specialist. He married New York artist, Emilee, with whom he has two sons: Joel and Andrew. Dr. Stefan A. Carter is included in Winnipeg's Human Rights Museum.