Ronald Carpenter, a devoted husband and father, passed away on Friday, July 29th at the age of 74.
Ron is survived by his wife, Odille, and his children, Jesse and wife, Amy, Eric and wife, Caron, Jamie and wife, Aline, Helen and husband, Bill, Chelsea and husband, Thomas, brothers, Clyde and wife, Janet, Greg and wife, Sonnie, and grandchildren Gwendolyn, Jack, Makayla, Isabelle, Brady, Madison, Teddy, and Declan. Ron is predeceased by his father, Walter, mother, Joan, and brothers, Fred, Mark, Kirk, and Jeff.
Ron was born May 1, 1948 in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in Littleton, Colorado, where he graduated from Arapahoe High School. Ron then attended Wrangley College, where he studied to become an airplane pilot. He later followed his family to Paramus, New Jersey and attended William Paterson College. On July 11, 1971, he married Odille Barbary, and they bought their first house in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Ron was an instrumental part of running the family restaurant, “The Arctic Kitchen,” in East Orange, New Jersey. He later co-owned “Recipes,” a second family restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey.
While spending many years with family and friends in the New Jersey area, he made a pivotal decision in 1988 to relocate the family to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Ron and wife, Odille, worked at Kolburne School and lived in Ashley Falls, Massachusetts. They watched their 5 children graduate from Mount Everett Regional High School and later graduate from college. The allure of the New Jersey shore was too much for Ron, and, in 2018, he and Odille moved back to Toms River, New Jersey.
Ron loved to watch his children and grandchildren play various sports, spanning 50 years in multiple states. He was also an avid fisherman and treasured the outdoors. He will be deeply missed by his friends, his family, and all that knew him.
Services: Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, August 5th at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Sheffield, Mass., conducted by Rev. Frank Furman. Burial will follow in Ashley Falls Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, August 4th from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington, MA. Donations in memory of Ron may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital directly or through Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230. To send remembrances to his family please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com
