C. Jeffrey Carpenter ’54 died on November 4, 2021, in Concord, New Hampshire

(The following was provided by the Union Leader on November 21, 2021)

Charles “Jeff” Carpenter 1932-2021

Charles Jeffery “Jeff” Carpenter, 89, passed away on November 4, 2021, after a period of declining health.

Jeff was born in New Haven, CT, on May 1, 1932, to the late Charles H. and Marie (Breckwoldt) Carpenter. After graduation from Crosby High School in Waterbury, CT, he obtained his BA in political science from Bowdoin College, where he was a member of the men’s swim team. Following his graduation from Bowdoin in 1954, Jeff served as a 1st lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps, stationed at Fort Ord, CA. After his Army service, Jeff began a thirty-plus-year career working for the telephone company. He began his career with Southern NE Telephone in New Haven, CT, and later moved his family to Rutland, VT, and thereafter to Candia, NH, working as an engineer and then district manager for New England Telephone/NYNEX. After his retirement, Jeff and his wife, Barbara, moved to Manchester. They also resided seasonally in Leesburg, Fla., and West Newfield, Maine. Following his wife’s passing, Jeff later moved to be with family in Concord.

Jeff had a strong faith in God and was a longtime member of Raymond Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. He also attended Trinity Baptist Church in Concord and First Baptist Church in Wolfeboro. Jeff often volunteered his time to assist the communities in which he lived, including positions on zoning boards in Cheshire, CT, and Candia, serving on the executive committee and as president of the Shady Nook Improvement Association in West Newfield, ME, and happily lending a helping hand to those in need.

Jeff was a friendly, kind, and gentle man with ready smile and a great sense of humor. He was devoted to his wife, children, grandchildren and extended family, and cherished family trips and gatherings, especially at his beloved summer home on Balch Lake in West Newfield, Maine, where his Carpenter and Breckwoldt family roots extend back over a hundred years. He was also exceptionally strong in character and in faith and was the solid oak tree under which his family and others sought peace, comfort, and wisdom during difficult times. He was loved and will be dearly missed by his family beyond words.

Jeff was predeceased by his parents, his beloved wife of forty-six years, Barbara (Crowell) Carpenter, and his brother, Michael Carpenter. He is survived by his three children, Jennifer Smith, and her husband, Jeffrey, of Concord; Johnathan Carpenter and his wife, Janice, of Gig Harbor, WA, and Gary Carpenter and his wife, Tina, of Manchester; his brother, Robert Carpenter and his wife, Wendy, of Torrington, CT; ten grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and his close friend and companion, Anne Grumbling of Gilford.