Carpenter, Charles June 12, 1939 - December 21, 2021

Mr. Carpenter was a native Missourian born and raised in St. Clair County and lived most recently in Bulverde, Texas. He was born June 12, 1939 in Appleton City, Missouri to Forrest Carpenter and Julia (Ledbetter) Carpenter. After graduating from Osceola High School in 1957, he served four years as an Air Intelligence Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Air Force. Upon being honorably discharged in 1961, he met and married the love of his life, Phyllis Ruth Beard, and attended Central Missouri State University, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education and a Master of Arts Degree in American History. After earning his graduate degree, Mr. Carpenter attended Air Force Officer Training School, Air Force technical schools, and served in various intelligence disciplines in operational commands overseas and in the continental United States. His military career included tours in Chicksands, England, Orlando, FL, San Angelo, TX, Korat, Thailand, Honolulu, HI, Misawa, Japan, and San Antonio, TX. After 26 years of service to his country, he retired from the Air Force in 1988 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After retirement from the Air Force, Mr. Carpenter was a stock broker and worked for the Department of Energy for fifteen years. After settling in Bulverde, TX in 2000, he embarked upon a twenty-year journey to research and write a historical book tracing members of his family from England to the British colonies, to the American mid-west, and their struggles during the Civil War and post-war reconstruction.  The book, A Damned Hard Lot: Life and Times of a Missouri Rebel, Pioneer, Prospector, Soldier, and Citizen, was published in 2020.

He was preceded in death by his parents Forrest Carpenter and Julia (Ledbetter) Carpenter. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Phyllis Ruth (Beard) Carpenter, and their three children: oldest son Travis Charles Carpenter and wife Brenda (Pena) Carpenter of Bulverde, TX; daughter Stacy Michelle Carpenter and her two sons Jordan Daniel Solis (27) and Nicholas Adam Solis (25) of Bulverde, TX; and youngest son Matthew Forrest Carpenter and his two children McKenna Noelle Carpenter (21) and Jackson Banks Carpenter (19) of Lago Vista, TX.

Private graveside services with full military honors will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, TX. Condolences can be made to:

Phyllis Carpenter

3015 Wild Valley Drive

Bulverde, TX  78163