John Patrick Carpenter

Aug. 24, 1941 – Oct. 11, 1985

John Patrick Carpenter, 44, of 2757 Eller Lane, died Saturday in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to St. Joseph County Coroner Louis Grwinski. He was born Aug. 24, 1941, in Elkhart and had lived in the area throughout his life.

He is survived by his father, David E. Carpenter of South Bend; his mother, Avanelle Boorda of South Bend; two sisters, Suzanne Rickey of South Bend and Nancy Horvath of Mishawaka, and a brother, David E. Carpenter of Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Friends may call from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday in the Welsheimer Funeral Home, 521 N. William St. 

Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Welsheimer Funeral Home, 521 N. William St.  Burial will be in Olive Cemetery. Friends may call until 5 and 7 and 9 p.m. today in the funeral home. 

Published in the South Bend Tribune on October 13 & 14, 1985.

06/24/2022 DEC

                                              Memorial

                                          John Patrick Carpenter

                                                    1941 ~ 1985

John Carpenter was born in Elkhart, Ind. on August 24, 1941. He and his family moved to South Bend in 1947.

He attended Lincoln Elementary School through the 8th grade and then attended Riley High School. In his junior year, he moved to the Adams school district for his senior year, and graduated from John Adams High School in 1960.

After graduation, John enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Germany. He had learned how to play the banjo from his father and became quite proficient at it. He often played his banjo in the beer halls in Germany. In addition to his Army duties, he also was a drummer in the volunteer Army Drum and Bugle Corps in Germany.

After his discharge from the Army, he played his banjo at Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant. He also played his banjo with Larry Dwyer, who played the piano, at the Jacks or Better Tavern.

During the 1950’s, his family rented cottages in the summer at Shavehead Lake, near Union, Michigan. John enjoyed those times and decided to purchase one of them. It was named the “Beachcomber”. He spent a lot of time there fixing it up and playing his banjo in his spare time.

John attended Indiana University South Bend and graduated with a BA degree in 1974. After graduation,

he returned to Germany with Dave Bytner to relive memories. Dave also had served in the Army  in Germany.

He then moved to California and went to work at Commercial Union Assurance Company as a Sr. Marketing Representative. He decided to change his career to work at Continental Machine Tool Co. He received many awards for outstanding salesmanship.

While in California, he played banjo in the Manhattan Beach Dixieland Band. It was named the “Hyperion Outfall Serenaders” after the local sewage treatment plant. He also played banjo in the San Fernando Valley Banjo Band. The leader of the band was George Yellich, who was originally from South Bend.

Over his years in California, John became homesick and decided to return home to Indiana to be with family. He started working for the Skyline Satellite Systems as a sales representative. He then worked for Klem Supply, Inc. as a sales representative.

He was unaware of the fact that he was inflicted with a disease called “Tourette Syndrome” which has uncontrollable symptoms such as nervous tics and noises. He had suffered for many years with the disease not knowing what he had.  It was only in recent years that the disease was discovered. He stated that it took all of his energy to control it. Even though he was on medication, he thought it was getting worse. He saw several severe cases and he did not want to end up like that.

Nobody in the family knew how depressed he was.  Several years prior, he had purchased a gun for protection.  It was an awful shock when it was learned that he had taken his life.

He has been greatly missed by the family over these years.  I especially miss him, he was my brother.

                                   Dave Carpenter - Riley Class of 1957

06/24/2022 DEC

John P Carpenter

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77790088/john-p-carpenter