Clyde Carpenter

Clyde Calvin Carpenter Aug. 31, 1927 - April 29, 2011 Clyde Calvin Carpenter, 83, of Boise, ID, (formerly of Oklahoma City) died April 29, 2011, from complications following surgery in Boise, ID. Clyde was born on Aug. 31, 1927 to William Leonidas Carpenter and Jennie Viola (Sutton) Carpenter in Healdton, OK. He graduated from Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City in 1945 and immediately joined the Navy during the war. He was a veteran of World War II, having served on the USS Pressley, and was honorably discharged in 1946. Clyde married Lenora Faye Mikes in 1950 and had two children, Nancy C. (Haragan), and Richard D. Carpenter. Clyde and Lenora divorced in 1975. Clyde joined the Postal Service as a mail carrier in 1951 and retired in the 1980s with his final service based in the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. He was cited many times for outstanding service including one citation for having weathered a tornado that hit his personal residence in 1959 and showing up for work and delivering mail after much of the area had been destroyed or damaged, including the Postal Service office where he worked. Clyde and his brother, Richard (who has bowled two perfect games), were active bowlers in South Oklahoma City, primarily at Penn 44 and Holiday Lanes. Clyde was an active bicycler who enjoyed morning rides and coffee with friends at Draper Lake and in later years along trails on the Oklahoma River. Clyde married Martha Mae Townsend on Oct. 3, 1978 and they lived happily together for more than 20 years until she passed away December 31, 1999. When health problems and personal safety issues from living alone became a challenge, Clyde moved to Boise, ID in 2009 to live with his son, Rick. Balance issues kept him from being able to ride his bikes so he transitioned to a three-wheel recumbent bike that he rode through the streets and alleys of his neighborhood near 32nd and Gavin in the last year. He dearly missed his riding buddies in Oklahoma City, particularly Don Wisel who worked at the postal service with him and became a regular bike rider with him after they retired. Clyde had a passion for mechanics and automobiles, Studebakers in particular. In the mid '60s, a south Oklahoma City neighborhood high school student, Ray Gentry, took a liking to Clyde's total rebuild of a Studebaker Champion. He was so fascinated with every aspect of rebuilding the car from top to bottom, that Ray helped him every night with every part of the rebuild project down to the final paint job that they did together. When the car was complete and Ray turned 16, Clyde signed the title over to Ray. That unselfish character and his appreciation for pursuing a person's passion illustrate the kind of person his family remembers. Clyde was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Martha; a brother, W.L. Carpenter Jr; two sisters, Wanda Ruth Starr and Alma Rae Schwenk, and a granddaughter, Jenny Rebecca Hendricks. Clyde is survived by his sister, Alta Mae Cagle; brother, Richard Asbury Carpenter of Oklahoma City; daughter, Nancy Haragan (Mike Haragan) of Huntsville, AL; son, Rick Carpenter of Boise, ID; grandsons, David Michael Haragan of Fort Collins, CO, and Bryan Scott Haragan of Huntsville, AL; and numerous friends and family including Martha's daughter, Carolyn Robb, and other family members. Viewing will be 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3, at the funeral home in OK with Graveside services following at 3 p.m. at Resthaven Memory Gardens. Friends may leave condolences at www.vondelsmithmortuary.com. Directed by Vondel Smith/South OKC, OK.