Proud American and Navy Veteran William Neil Carpenter Sr. passed away in his adopted hometown of Auburn California at the age of 85 on January 9th, 2021.
Born in Conshohocken Pennsylvania, Bill was an entrepreneur at a young age. From building and painting fences at age 11 with a “crew” he hired from around the neighborhood, to building a decades-long successful major appliance sales and service business in Salinas California, Bill Carpenter Sr. always put his heart and soul into every venture.
Family and friends will remember his love for the roar of engines. As a Navy jet mechanic in the 1950’s he experienced the thrill of power that carried through to his love of designing and building home-made sand buggies to run on the sand dunes of Marina-Seaside California in the 1960’s, the power the diesel engines of tour busses as he drove them over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in the 1990’s, and up until a few years ago the power and speed of his beloved Yamaha V-Max motorcycle. A traffic stop at the age of 78 earned him a 100+ mile per hour traffic ticket on his V-Max. He beat the ticket.
His passion for truth, justice, and family shined bright. He valued value. His life was full. Bill is survived by his brothers Dominick, Willard, and Robert A. Carpenter and their families of Pennsylvania, sister Josephine (Carpenter) Roach, his daughter and son-in-law Elizabeth (Carpenter) Bohn and Paul Bohn, son Bill Carpenter Jr., son Robert Carpenter and daughter-in-law Jennifer (Najolia) Carpenter and three granddaughters: Heidi Bohn of Salinas California and Ella & Ava Carpenter of Lincoln California.
Graveside services will be held in the Veteran’s Honor section of the New Auburn Cemetery (1040 Collins Drive Auburn, California 95603) on Friday, January 29th at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, pay for a U.S. Veteran’s meal at a local restaurant or make a donation in his name to your favorite U.S. Veteran’s organization.
Your fond remembrances and special images can be shared to his webpage: BillCarpenterSr.com