Louise S. Carpenter

LOUISE S.
CARPENTER
ITHACA - Louise S. Carpenter, 67, formerly of Ithaca and Slaterville Springs, died in Abegavenny, Wales on June 5th, 2008.
She was born on her parent's farm near Freehold, NJ. The love of the land that she learned there never left her. She came to Ithaca in 1959 as a violin student at Ithaca College, although in the end she graduated with a degree in English. She taught English for a while, but later in life changed career directions. After obtaining an MSW from Syracuse University, she began the work in social service that was her real love. She worked variously at the Willard Psychiatric Center, at Ithacare and Hospicare, and for many years at the Tompkins County Mental Health Clinic. She also had a long-standing private practice as a psychiatric social worker.
Never one to be idle, Louise added a considerable amount of volunteer work, among others for Homes and for the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance (IBCA), to her already busy days.
Louise was a woman of many talents and interests. She loved to play her violin, especially in chamber music groups. She would ski in the winter and swim in the summer, and she spent endless hours in her very extensive garden, tending vegetables that she would be delighted to serve to guests for dinner in the evening. She was a committed environmentalist long before it became fashionable to be so, and she was passionate about issues of social justice. But, above all, she was a loving wife and mother.
In the fall of 2006 Louise took the courageous step of moving to Wales with her husband. They intended to start a new life there, but, only nine months after her arrival, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Throughout her brave fight against the disease, she maintained the sense of humor and concern for those around her that were the hallmarks of her life.
Louise is survived by her brothers, Walter Schneider of Indianapolis, IN and William Schneider of Interlaken, NY; by her two daughters, Michèle Wilcox in Stockholm, Sweden and Jennifer Wilcox in Manhattan, NY; and by her husband, Barry Carpenter in Abergavenny Wales.
There will be a celebration of Louise's life from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22nd, at the Women's Community Building in Ithaca. Her husband, Barry, requests that those planning to attend this event send him an email at carpenterb1@cardiff.ac.uk as soon as possible (note: the character before the @ is the numeral one).
Friends wishing to honor Louise's memory are encouraged to make donations in her name to charities concerned with cancer research or environmental conservation, or locally to the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes (formerly IBCA) or to Hospicare.