Ben Carpenter

SALISBURY - After a long, courageous struggle with leukemia, Benjamin Richard Carpenter, 93, was called home to be with his Savior on Monday, September 12, 2022. Ben was well loved by everyone who knew him, blessed with a gentle spirit and a genuine desire to help others in need. A devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was the kind of person who insisted on holding the door for others and making sure that his neighbors didn’t suffer if he could do something to alleviate their suffering.

Born May 20, 1929 in Waco, North Carolina to John Jacob Carpenter and Claudia Lee Williams Carpenter, Ben attended Waco High School and helped his father with his tire recapping business before joining the U.S. Navy, where he served as a hospital corpsman third class (1946-48). He finished his high school education in the Navy and subsequently earned a WWII-era veteran’s designation and an honorable discharge.

Ben used his G.I. Bill funding to obtain an Associate’s Degree from Gardner-Webb College in 1950 and graduated with a BA in English and Social Studies from Appalachian State College in 1952. He first met his lifetime partner Alma Mae Thrift at Gardner-Webb, and they were married on August 22, 1952. He then attended graduate school at Tulane University and the UNC School of Social Work, where he earned a Master of Social Work Degree in 1957.

Ben taught briefly in the Bessemer City Schools (1953) and then accepted a position with the Cleveland County Department of Social Services later the same year, where he was promoted to Director in 1959. He then worked for the North Carolina Division of Social Services (1965-1974) and ultimately served as the Director of Social Services for Gaston County, NC (1974), from which he retired in 1987.

Ben was elected President of the NC Association of County Directors of Social Services (1977-78). He was recognized as an outstanding Director of Social Services by the NC County Commissioner Association (1978), and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NC Association of County Directors of Social Services (NCACDSS) in 2012.

For many years Ben was a bow-hunting enthusiast, spending hours in tree stands, communing with nature and enjoying the solitude of an early morning sunrise, and sometimes he even brought home a deer. He also enjoyed fishing, playing golf, watching UNC basketball games and reading Western novels, particularly those by Louis L’Amour. Ben had a wry sense of humor and always enjoyed a good joke. He always had time to take a phone call from his children or grandchildren, many of whom called him on a regular basis to share with him what was going on in their lives.

Ben was predeceased by his parents, his loving wife, the former Alma Mae Thrift and his son, John David Carpenter of Easley, SC. He is survived by a daughter, Gayla Lynn Carpenter Bucher (Bill) of Salisbury, NC, daughter-in-law, Myra Kay Jacks Carpenter of Easley, SC; grandchildren Lauren Terwilliger (Kevin), Jacob Carpenter (Joyce), Ryan Carpenter (Jennifer), Abigail Ness (Eric), and Erin Carpenter, as well as eight great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind cherished memories of extended family in Shelby and friendships from his Social Services days, his retirement years in East Palatka, Florida and Easley, South Carolina and from his residence at Oak Park Retirement in Salisbury, where he spent the last years of his life.

The family will receive friends at the Clay-Barnette Funeral Home in Shelby on Friday, September 16th from noon to 1:30pm. A graveside service will follow at 2:00pm at the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Shelby. Memorial gifts may be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation, 191 Waukegan Road, Suite 105, Northfield, Illinois 60093. More information at leukemiarf.org.