Carpenters Articles
Page 7
Obituary: Agnes Carpenter
November 14, 1996 from the Downey Eagle
Friends, family mourn Agnes Reuwer Carpenter
DOWNEY - Funeral services for
Agnes Reuwer Carpenter, mother of national recording stars Karen and
Richard Carpenter, were held Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Church of Our Father in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress.
A strong maternal figure and
homemaker who also worked outside the home twice in her life, she lived
in Downey and died Oct. 1 after complications following triple-bypass heart surgery.
She was 81, born March 5, 1915
in Baltimore, Md. She met Harold Carpenter when she was 16. He ran a
box printing operation with clients including Tide soap. They were married four years later, and were together 53 years until his death in 1988.
During World War II she worked for Mettler Brothers, a subcontractor for Pratt and Whitney.
Her family was her hobby. In 1963 the family left Connecticut for California so Richard and sister Karen could be closer to the entertainment
world. Father Harold treated the youngsters at an early age to
classical composers including Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
Richard studied music and composition here.
When finances were strained by the move west, Agnes went to work at North American Aviation.
When Richard and Karen's music
career took hold in the 1970s and Close to You climbed the charts, the
family moved into a new home on Newville Avenue, which they still own.
Survivors include her sister, Bernice; son Richard; niece Joan; and four grandchildren.
More articles to come....
