Kenneth Carpenter Collection

Kenneth Lyle Carpenter was born to Clair William Carpenter (1898-1969) and Vera L. (Dobbs) Carpenter (1900-1997) in Mt. Morris, Michigan, on August 17, 1921 and spent his childhood in Flint and Saginaw, Michigan. In 1939, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a mechanic crew chief in the 11th pursuit squadron in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands during World War II. After the war ended, he worked as a bush pilot in Alaska before serving two tours of duty as an ordnance officer in the Military Assistance Advising Group in Taiwan (1956-1957) and Iran (1960-1963). He retired from the military at the rank of Major.

After leaving the military, Carpenter began a second career as an academic administrator, serving as a research and grants contract administrator at the University of Texas at El Paso before coming to Arizona State University as an Administrative Assistant in the Office of Research Grants and Contracts in about 1972. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Research Grants and Contracts in 1978 and retired from the University in 1984. Kenneth Carpenter died on March 4, 2006. He was predeceased by his first wife, Alma Hogan, and survived by his second wife, Mireille, and sons Bill and Jeff Carpenter.