Stories

He was born September 1, 1948, in the (no kidding) Carpenter Hospital in Wayne MI and delivered by his great uncle, Dr. C.J. Carpenter. The son of Robert Allan Carpenter and Irene Mae Carpenter, he and his three sisters grew up in Wayne where their grandfather owned an auto dealership.

After graduating in 1966 from Wayne Memorial High, he attended U of M for two years, then he enlisted in the US Army in 1969, serving as a Military Police Officer in Korea. Upon completing his military obligation, he joined the family’s dealership holding a variety of positions from mechanic to salesman and then sales manager. On one particular evening, David attended a Red Wings game with the dealership’s insurance agent, where he was introduced to Lynn Kendall, and the rest, as they say, is history. Soon after Lynn and David’s 1976 wedding, he left the auto dealership, joining Langworthy Kendall Insurance Agency in the fall of 1980.

Having fished and hunted with his father all his life, David shared a love of the outdoors with his father-in-law too, which helped to strengthen their long-lasting professional and personal bond and helped David to continue to build the legacy of an already successful insurance agency.

David’s commitment to the Rotary Club is significant. He served all the club offices in his local Wayne club and then he moved on to serve the District 6400 as both assistant Governor and District Governor. He was also the District 6400 Polio Chair, Foundations Assistant Treasurer and the Zone Polio Chair. He traveled frequently with Rotary, attending events both nationally and internationally and working on missions. Some of the many projects he helped with were to arrange for medical supplies in Honduras, to start a Micro Bank in Choloma, Honduras which grew to help many in need and to help to build classrooms, also in Honduras. Beyond Rotary, he served on the Wayne School District’s improvement teams, helping to lead the schools into the 21st Century and to organize over 30, 000 no longer needed books from the schools to be sent around the world. His generosity also combined with his hobbies, as he made and donated over 200 preemie quilts to local children’s hospitals.

David was gifted at reconnecting with his “inner child.” Whether it was becoming Santa Claus for the Wayne Christmas parade, sitting on the floor to play Candyland with granddaughters Gabby and Josey or in his skillful pyrotechnic extravaganzas done for July 4th fireworks displays up north. David was always able to immerse himself in the moment.

This ability was something David leveraged in both his professional and personal achievements. From the way he engineered a career pathway at what is now a third-generation insurance agency for sons Jimmy and Michael to supporting wife Lynn’s passion for quilting by becoming a skilled quilter and cross stitcher himself David wasn’t halfway on anything he undertook. And not content to just “go up north, ” David spent many years at his family’s cabin in Ardbeg, Ontario, hunting and fishing with family and close friends. Together with his oldest son Allan, they purchased property in Beaverton, Mi in fall of 2010 which cemented yet another generation of Carpenters that love hunting and spending time outdoors with family and friends