Ronald M. Carpenter

Ronald Mitchell Carpenter was born March 7, 1962, at Darby Hospital, just outside of Philadelphia, PA.  Ron was the firstborn son of Walter and Evelyn Carpenter.  Ron the infant was a prelude to Ron the young man; he loved peace, quiet and a good laugh.

Ron attended K-12 in Philly, graduating from Germantown High School, with the class of 1980.  Over the years, Ron had grown to be 6’5” and was always a natural athlete.  It didn’t matter whether it was basketball, football, softball, pool shooting, swimming or tennis, Ron always seemed to pick it up and excel at it.  In West Oak Lane, where he grew up, he was nicknamed “Slink” because he was so tall and could do so much on the basketball court.  He played varsity basketball for Germantown HS and was recruited by legendary coach John Chaney to play at Cheyney State University.  Ron did attend Cheyney but elected not to play basketball.

After college, Ron took a position at Resorts International casino in Atlantic City, in Safety and Enforcement.  From there, Ron worked at the Internal Revenue Service, following his mother, as she had been a longtime employee of the IRS.  Ron had several different jobs over the years, as he worked as security at Burlington Coat Factory, bartender for his Uncle Needles at the Tic-Tac-Toe lounge in North Philly; security for local bars and clubs, before finishing up with Shot Rite.

Over most of Ron’s adult life, he had health challenges, including substance abuse.  Some of those challenges led to him not wanting to socialize in large picnics and parties but preferring gatherings with just a few people.  After several years of alcohol and drug abuse, Ron began attending Alcohol Anonymous meetings, and by the grace of God, got “clean” in December 2013.  He remained clean until his untimely death.  Ron always made it a point to check on his mother, often calling her several times during the day, after she and his father moved to Chicago.

Ron leaves to cherish his memories, his mother and father, Evelyn and Walter Carpenter, his younger brother Jerry (Sheila), nieces Ashley Thomas-McLaurin (Josh), Janae Carpenter, Siara Carpenter, best friend Chris Clayton, and a host of cousins and friends.