Richard Carpenter

Richard D. Carpenter, 80, a resident of Fort Wayne and formerly of Churubusco, passed away at 8:50 a. m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at Englewood Health & Rehabilitation Center in Fort Wayne following a lengthy illness. Mr. Carpenter was born in Fort Wayne on July 21, 1933, a son of Cloid and Margaret (Ellingwood) Carpenter, and spent his formative years there. On June 14, 1952 he was married at Ege to Dorothy A. "Dottie" Sullivan. The couple spent several years of their marriage in Churubusco before moving to Fort Wayne 20 years ago. Employed for 33 years at Peter Eckrich in Fort Wayne, he retired from Klink Trucking, Inc. in Fort Wayne in 2008 after 22 years there. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fort Wayne, and had been a member of the Meat Packer's Union. He always enjoyed his work and the people there. He has left a legacy of a strong work ethic that will continue for yeas to come. In his leisure time he enjoyed playing cards, all types of music, and dancing. He will long be remembered as a person who enjoyed pleasing others and as a man who loved and cherished his family. The surviving relatives include his wife Dorothy "Dottie" Carpenter, to whom he was married for 62 years; his children Theresa Teders, Erin Hazelett, Michael Carpenter, and Carma (Charles) MacPherson, all of Fort Wayne, and Patrick (Amy) Carpenter of Churubusco; four foster children Thomacine Dohrman, Mary North, Chris Percy, and Lynette Bohnstedt; a sister Mary Sifuentes of Princeton, Texas; two brothers Rev. Harry (Patricia) Carpenter of Montgomery, Texas and Lester (Sharon) Carpenter of Onalaska, Texas; a sister-in-law Mary Jane Oakes of Fort Wayne; 32 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters Evelyn Bodle and Madaline Fusselman; two brothers Cloid Carpenter and William Carpenter; and by a grandson Richard Arthur Teders. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a. m. on Thursday, July 24, 2014, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1101 S. Lafayette St., with Father Jeff Largent, the celebrant. The family will receive friends at the church on Wednesday from 2 to 8:30 p. m. The Holy Rosary will be recited at 8 p. m. Wednesday at the church. There will also be visitation from 9 to 10:45 a. m. Thursday at the church prior to the funeral mass. Interment will be in Catholic Cemetery, Fort Wayne. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to Ave Maria House, St. Mary's Soup Kitchen, or the Alzheimer's Association. **************************************************