Earl Eugene Carpenter

Earl was born Aug. 12, 1932, in Bemus, N.Y. He graduated from Bemus Point High School, where he played varsity football, baseball and basketball. He also played tuba in the high school band.

Earl was a Navy veteran and served from 1952-54 and continued in the Naval Reserve In Jamestown. He worked for the Coca Cola Company from 1954-56. Then he was employed at Ring Punch and Die Division of Producto Machine Company from 1956-79.

In 1956 Earl married Shirley Jean Nelson at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Jamestown, N.Y. They moved to Gila Bend, Ariz., in 1979 where they bought a True Value Hardware Store and managed it for 18 years. Earl was a member of the Rotary Club in Gila Bend, Ariz. and Jamestown, N.Y. Also, he was active in the Elks Club in Gila Bend.

Earl and Shirley loved RV camping adventures. They spent 45 years camping at Hidden Valley in Jamestown, N.Y. Their first “camper” was a converted school bus which they proceeded to paint red.

Earl was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Maude Carpenter; and his brothers: Arthur in 1995 and Algy in 2011. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; son, Timothy Earl and his wife, Murphy in Charlotte, N.C.; and his daughter, Brenda Carpenter Drudge in Cowes, Victoria, Australia; granddaughter, Marie Johnston and her husband, Steve and their son, Sammy; granddaughter, Melissa Colburn and her husband, Jesse of Jamestown, N.Y.; and former daughter-in-law, Dennett of Jamestown, N.Y. Also nieces: Mary Carpenter of Bemus Point, N.Y., Dena Holmberg and her husband, Rory of Jamestown; and nephew, Algy Carpenter Jr. and his wife, Eileen in Florida.

Please consider memorials to the Rotary Club in Jamestown, N.Y., or Rotary Club and the Elks Club in Gila Bend, Ariz., or a charity of your choice.

Memorial services will be held at a later date and announced by Lind Funeral Home.