Mr. Alvin Thomas Carpenter Sr., 90, known to many as A.T. or Boody, and a resident of Machipongo, passed away Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, at his residence surrounded by his family. Mr. Carpenter was born Oct. 31, 1928. He was raised in Northampton County by his g r a n d p a r e n t s, the late Captain George and Nellie Fitzhugh Carpenter.
The minute Mr. Carpenter became of age, he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he would remain for 20 years. It was during a tour of Germany that he met and fell in love with, as he would say, “a cute little German girl” named Irene. They later married on Aug. 14, 1953. Their union was blessed with four children. Mr. Carpenter retired from the U.S. Army an ensign seven in 1968. He moved his family back to Northampton County, to Cape Charles, where he and Irene raised their family.
Mr. Carpenter went to work at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in January 1969 and retired from there as a lieutenant. To those who knew him, they knew him to be a family man. He was the family historian and could recall dates of birth, death, and marriage and family lineage at the drop of a dime. He was never late and always organized.
Mr. Carpenter is survived by three children, Robert (Katy) Carpenter, of Warren, R.I., Richard (Donna) Carpenter, of Cutoff, La., and Patricia (Peanut) Nock, of Salisbury, Md.; eight grandchildren, Adam Carpenter, of Panama City, Fla., Thomas Dize, of Machipongo, who Pop affectionately called “his boy,” Courtney, Cody, Casey and Chloe Carpenter, all of Warren, and Whitney and Noah Whittington, of Salisbury; three great-grandchildren, Logan Marshall and Colton and Mason Carpenter, all of Warren; his beloved dog, Quinn; one sister, Helen Lewis Wilson, of Townsend, Va.; and a lifelong friend, Kenneth Webb, of Machipongo.
In addition to his mother, Della Reed, he was predeceased by his wife, Irene Carpenter; his eldest son, Alvin Thomas Carpenter Jr.; a great-grandson, Jaxson Nathaniel Waters; two sisters, Lula Orie Carpenter and Florence Golding; and two brothers, William “Billy” Carpenter and Russell Reed.
Funeral services will be conducted Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, at 12 p.m. at Wilkins-Doughty Funeral Home with the Rev. Russell Goodrich officiating. Interment will follow in Cape Charles Cemetery. Family will join friends at the funeral home one hour prior to service.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements were made by WilkinsDoughty Funeral Home in Cape Charles.
