John Christopher Carpenter, also known as “Blackie” (due to his black hair), was born the youngest of four children in south London July 9th, 1918 to James and Margaret Carpenter. Raised as a true “Cockney” in the heart of London, John was always proud of his family history. Living until he was one-hundred years-young, it is not surprising that John survived his brothers – Jimmy and Tommy as well as his sister Maggie.
Even though John finished school at 14 years of age, it never held him back from finding a way to make a good buck or a “pound sterling”. Born a hustler, he often reminisced about selling watches right off his wrist, buying ice-cream and mementos from the local shops and then reselling them on the street to tourists. He was a firm believer in eating fruits and vegetables (which may have contributed to living 100 years) with tomato’s being a constant of nutrition.
This good habit may have started from the time he was young chasing after trucks hoping for a piece of fruit to fall from the trucks. Raised near the famous Tower Bridge in London, John had street smarts that stayed with him throughout his life. John and his wife of 78 years, Patricia met at Watney’s Brewing Company in London where Pat worked.
They dated for a short-time before getting married in a small ceremony at the registry office when she was just 17 and he was 19. Soon afterwards, they welcomed baby Patricia into the world on the brink of World War II. John was then in drafted into the British Army where he would eventually survive the famous Battle of Dunkirk and even the deadly sepsis disease that nearly took his life.
His young family was displaced several times during the war due to the bombing in London, but these trails only seemed to strengthen their marriage and their fortitude like all Londoners and this would serve them well throughout their long lives. John and Pat welcomed Jaqueline into the world before the end of war when times were very hard for everyone across London. After his Honorable Discharge from the British Army, John joined the American Red Cross in effort to continue to serve his countrymen.
Eventually finding his niche in the budding electronics industry where he worked for over seventeen years, John became a manager of an electronics store specializing in televisions. Throughout his life, John had to have the lasted gadgets when it came to electronics. He loved fidgeting with wires and cables – even in his 90’s!
Over the years, he held many jobs including being a chauffeur for Queen Elizabeth’s seamstress and a Ship Steward on the P&O Line where he got to travel to South America and India. Luckily, he never had to go in the ocean to save himself – he never learned to swim! In 1981, John and Pat packed their bags and said goodbye to many friends and family and moved to the USA to begin retirement and to be closer to family.
Before long they were both back on the road working and building their business as the “The Carpenters” – selling antiques and estate jewelry doing road shows across America for many years. They loved their Winnebago camper and their free-style lifestyle and made many new friends along the way. Eventually, they settled in Calabash, North Carolina where they opened an Antiques and Gift Store along with their daughter Jackie called “The Carpenters”.
Always up for a party and song, John loved to perform whenever given a chance – every party perked up when he was there. This included singing Frank Sinatra songs in his rich baritone voice (making up his own words except the chorus) and giving it his all each time he sang. He could play the piano like a pro even though he never had a lesson.
When it came to entertaining his many grand-children over the years, John always had a trick up his sleeve including spoons and thumb splitting magic. He was always hopeful that one of his grand-children would make it to the big screen or top of the charts someday. .
In 2010 John and Pat moved to Parker, Colorado to be nearer to family again. His family’s claim to fame was that we have had five generations for the past 17 years with John being firmly at the helm. John’s last toast with a glass of wine was to his “family”.
He is survived by his two daughters, Patricia Cowan and Jaqueline Carpenter, both of Parker, Colorado as well as six grand-children (one deceased), twelve great-grandchildren and sixteen great-great children. John, Dad, Grandad we love you. You will be forever in our hearts.
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of John Christopher Carpenter please visit our Sympathy Store.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
