Edward Carpenter
d. May 3, 2017
Edward Carpenter
Edward Joe Carpenter, yeoman, US Navy, of Little Rock passed away May 3, 2017.
He was born in Mulhall, Oklahoma in 1947. Ed was the son of farmers, Hugh and Laura Carpenter, who lived through the Dust Bowl before relocating to Tulsa. Ed graduated from Rogers High School in 1965 and later earned an associate degree from Tulsa Junior College, where he studied computer programming. He attended Oklahoma State University.
He joined the Navy in 1967 and served on active duty until 1969 as part of the aviation squadron VAW-124 on the aircraft carrier USS Independence based in Norfolk, VA. He was honorably discharged in 1972. After the Navy, Ed started a career as a computer programmer at the United States Jaycees and later Sooner Federal Savings & Loan. He moved to Little Rock, AR in 1991 to work in software programming, holding positions at Systematics, Alltel, and Acxiom.
Ed met Sue Ward at the US Jaycees, where they both worked, in 1970. They married in November 1971. He loved music and played guitar and sang as part of a duo for small audiences around Tulsa, covering bands like the Eagles, Bread, the Kingston Trio, and John Denver.
Ed and Sue started a family in 1973, with the birth of their son, Edward Joe Carpenter Jr. Their daughter, Rebecca Janette Carpenter, was born in 1976.
A Boy Scout and Eagle Scout growing up, Ed became an assistant scoutmaster when his son joined the scouts. He liked camping and hiking. He was a strong presence in his kids' lives, coaching soccer, baseball, and softball, and dancing as a father bumble bee with Rebecca in a second grade tap dance performance.
Ed was a competitive high school swimmer and played soccer and softball in adult leagues. He loved water skiing and was able to slalom ski on his 66th birthday. He was an avid golfer and member of the Hot Springs Village golf association in Arkansas in his later years. He cheered for the OSU Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks football teams.
He and Sue celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in November. Ed was very proud of his children, and loved spending time with his three grandchildren, Dylan, Vivienne, and Mateo.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Laura, and his sister, Judith Burtner.
Immediate surviving family are: wife, Sue, Little Rock; son, Edward, Oakland, CA; daughter, Rebecca, Little Rock; daughter-in-law, Anne Geis, Oakland, CA; son-in-law, Bobby Rollins, Little Rock; grandchildren, Dylan, Vivienne, and Mateo; nephew, Raymond Burtner, Catoosa, OK; niece, Terri Drosopoulos, Fort Smith, AR; and cousins, Suzie Dritt, The Colony, TX, David Carpenter, Vinita, OK, Verna Eccles, Broken Arrow, OK, Valerie Ashton, Plano, TX, Karl Carpenter, New Market, MD, Leslie Carpenter, Keller, TX, Diana Tancer, Plandome Heights, NY, and Starla Carpenter, Urbana, Illinois.
Services will be held on Thursday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m. at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.), Little Rock, AR 72205. Ed's online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.
8801 Knoedl Ct
Little Rock, AR, 72205
He was born in Mulhall, Oklahoma in 1947. Ed was the son of farmers, Hugh and Laura Carpenter, who lived through the Dust Bowl before relocating to Tulsa. Ed graduated from Rogers High School in 1965 and later earned an associate degree from Tulsa Junior College, where he studied computer programming. He attended Oklahoma State University.
He joined the Navy in 1967 and served on active duty until 1969 as part of the aviation squadron VAW-124 on the aircraft carrier USS Independence based in Norfolk, VA. He was honorably discharged in 1972. After the Navy, Ed started a career as a computer programmer at the United States Jaycees and later Sooner Federal Savings & Loan. He moved to Little Rock, AR in 1991 to work in software programming, holding positions at Systematics, Alltel, and Acxiom.
Ed met Sue Ward at the US Jaycees, where they both worked, in 1970. They married in November 1971. He loved music and played guitar and sang as part of a duo for small audiences around Tulsa, covering bands like the Eagles, Bread, the Kingston Trio, and John Denver.
Ed and Sue started a family in 1973, with the birth of their son, Edward Joe Carpenter Jr. Their daughter, Rebecca Janette Carpenter, was born in 1976.
A Boy Scout and Eagle Scout growing up, Ed became an assistant scoutmaster when his son joined the scouts. He liked camping and hiking. He was a strong presence in his kids' lives, coaching soccer, baseball, and softball, and dancing as a father bumble bee with Rebecca in a second grade tap dance performance.
Ed was a competitive high school swimmer and played soccer and softball in adult leagues. He loved water skiing and was able to slalom ski on his 66th birthday. He was an avid golfer and member of the Hot Springs Village golf association in Arkansas in his later years. He cheered for the OSU Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks football teams.
He and Sue celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in November. Ed was very proud of his children, and loved spending time with his three grandchildren, Dylan, Vivienne, and Mateo.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Laura, and his sister, Judith Burtner.
Immediate surviving family are: wife, Sue, Little Rock; son, Edward, Oakland, CA; daughter, Rebecca, Little Rock; daughter-in-law, Anne Geis, Oakland, CA; son-in-law, Bobby Rollins, Little Rock; grandchildren, Dylan, Vivienne, and Mateo; nephew, Raymond Burtner, Catoosa, OK; niece, Terri Drosopoulos, Fort Smith, AR; and cousins, Suzie Dritt, The Colony, TX, David Carpenter, Vinita, OK, Verna Eccles, Broken Arrow, OK, Valerie Ashton, Plano, TX, Karl Carpenter, New Market, MD, Leslie Carpenter, Keller, TX, Diana Tancer, Plandome Heights, NY, and Starla Carpenter, Urbana, Illinois.
Services will be held on Thursday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m. at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.), Little Rock, AR 72205. Ed's online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.
Service
MAY 11. 2:00 PM (CDT)
Little Rock Funeral Home8801 Knoedl Ct
Little Rock, AR, 72205
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