Leanore Maxine Carpenter

Carpenter, Leanore Maxine
EDUCATOR. Age 88 passed away on May 21, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. Maxine was born in Bedford, Indiana to Mary Bell Johnson Stapp and Frank B. Stapp. She was the third of their five children, June, Jim, Max, Marilyn, and Frank. Max loved to read from a young age and she went on to become a National Speech and Debate Champion, winning a trip to study for six months in Mexico or $10,000. (She took the trip!). Max earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Political Science, and graduate degrees from Radcliffe College. She volunteered to serve in the Women's Army Corp (WAC) in World War II in Signals Intelligence because she felt this
was the story of her generation and she wanted to be a part of it. During the war she analyzed enemy communications using statistical tabulation, graphic triangulation and frequency tables. By the end of the war, she was the only person doing this work in her department because her accuracy rating was 98%. She met her future husband, John L. Carpenter, in Washington, D.C. while he was serving in Army intelligence. They were married for 49 years before John L. passed in 1992. John L. was also a well known newspaperman and reporter for the Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic following his Army and CIA service. Max's career began as a newspaper editor, but quickly turned to teaching. She taught thousands of high school students at Phoenix Union and Central High Schools over a 30 year period. She sponsored student government, developed gifted programs, and innovated the curriculum in her economics, government, and sociology classrooms. She was also active in the Teachers Union. Later in her career she was asked to be the chief administrator for the Magnet School Program for the Phoenix Union High School District. Under Federal Court order to desegregate, Max made creative efforts to fund, build, develop curriculum and hire lead teachers for 11 magnet schools in the valley. She was determined to focus on the history of agriculture, aerospace, business entrepreneurship and equine medicine in the state, but also to include technology, performing and visual arts, international baccalaureate, global studies, and medical science into learning options for the students. When the job was done, she retired at age 72 in 1994. Opening the door of education to all was her contribution to the civil rights movement. Despite her career, Max was an active mom to five children, Carole Irene, John Van, Mary Bryn, Philip Dana and Amy Joan. She rarely missed one of their badminton, tennis, swimming, baseball, softball, football, basketball, vaulting, musical or theatrical performances-- or a teacher's conference. Her five children rank her meatloaf and deviled eggs as world class cuisine. She taught them all how to catch and throw, and loved sports, books, art, music, animals and travel of all kinds. She was grandmother to her "five superb and perfect" grandchildren, Sara Elenore Birkemeier, Cayla Lyn Carpenter, Ryan Philip Carpenter, Ansel Fox Carpenter and Wyeth Fox Carpenter. She embraced two sons in laws and one daughter in law, John Birkemeier of Phoenix, Christopher Pavek of Reston, VA and Terri Harden of Denver, Colorado. She loved John's Indiana roots, Christopher's travel planning and spending holidays with Terri. And when she wasn't raising her own children, she was the neighborhood mom, swim team mom, and homeless mom to all the children in her sphere of influence. She was active in the Democratic Party, spending years choosing to work for candidates of Arizona progress. Maxine and John L. were founding members of the Unitarian Church in the valley, but lived her principles in the community versus attending services. Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, mother and father in law Ira Van Renseleer and Mabel Carpenter, Aunts Myrtle and Lillian, her sister June Eastman Van Cleave, brother Jim and sister in law Jean Stapp, brother in law Nelson Wu and husband John L. Carpenter. She is survived by all her children and grandchildren, her sister Marilyn Wu of Tallehassee, Florida; brother Frank and sister in law Marion Stapp of Savannah, Georgia, Brother in law Malcolm Van Cleave of Indianapolis, Indiana, Nieces Claire Carpenter and her husband Geoff Young of Lexington , KY; Beth Ann Eastman and her husband Ben Eichler of Brooklyn, NY, Sonia Wu and her husband Jim Robertson of St Petersburg, Florida, Tammy Stapp McCorklin and her children; Nephews Tim Stapp and his wife Janet Haley Stapp of Bloomfield, Indiana, Scott Stapp and his wife Jennifer Staff of Tucson, Arizona, Steven Stapp, Adam Stapp of New Washington Indiana, Nicholas Stapp of Philadelphia, PA, Douglas Wu; Alexander Wu and his wife Josephine Wu of Oak Park Illinois, and many cousins in Florida, Indiana and Ohio. Maxine will be interred in a private ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona alongside her husband John L. A Celebration of Life party will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 11am-2pm at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel, 2620 West Dunlap Ave, in Phoenix, Az 85021. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Scholarship Program, South Mountain High School Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program c/o the Center for Education services 4502 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012 or to the Beatitudes Employees recognition Fund, Beatitudes Campus 1610 West Glendale Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85021.