Thomas Lee Carpenter

Tom Carpenter died peacefully on Friday, May 8, 2020. His family and friends who remember Tom span the globe. While he dealt with the increasing difficulties of COPD for the last decade of his life, this disease didn’t deter his desire to bring peace and teach forgiveness to whomever would listen. Tom was born in Mishawaka, Indiana on June 28, 1934, to Edward A. “Ed” And Marjorie A. “Margie” (Spear) Carpenter. The family welcomed James Dale “Jim” (Cheryl) 9 years later. Tom graduated from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce. He married his first wife, Elizabeth A. “Liz” Mellen. After a short stint in the army and rather than join the the family business, they left soon after to build a life in Colorado, commencing a lifelong proclivity of Tom doing things his own way. They had 2 children, Mark Thomas (Pam) and Jennifer Lynn “Jenni” Barru (Phil) and settled in Lakewood, Colorado. In Colorado, Tom held many jobs and was a true entrepreneur who started many businesses. He was also an active member in the Jaycees, a Junior Chamber of Commerce organization. His most successful business was being one of the pioneers of apartment-to-condominium conversion brokers in the Denver metro area in the early 1970s. Unfortunately his first marriage fell apart. In 1976 Tom married Linda L. (Keizer) Winston, with 2 young sons, Paul D. Winston (Susan) and Chad F. Winston (Lynn). During the early years of their marriage, Tom and Linda were introduced to a new consciousness and spirituality that would become the focal point of their 44 years together. He designed and built a home in Genesee, a mountain suburb of Denver. With Linda’s love of cooking and entertaining and Tom’s growing following of seekers, they held regular gatherings in their home. They also received many offers to have Tom come and speak to groups of people. They became foster parents to two teenage boys Huy Lam (Sara) and Jim Chinh Nguyen, fleeing violence in Vietnam. They traveled to China, the United Kingdom and many cities in the United States but the call of Kauai, Hawaii, was more than they could resist. They moved to Princeville on the north end of the island and soon found a property that was later to be known as Lunaloha. They built another beautiful home Tom designed, had a B & B above the garage, and shared their lives with horses, dogs, and followers of ACIM. Toms first book, A Dialogue on Awakening was self published in 1992, followed by The Miracle of Real Forgiveness in 2010 and Let Love Find You in 2016. Grudgingly Tom had to admit that his years of smoking were taking a toll on his lungs and they left the vog of Kauai to winter in Palm Springs, CA, summering in Port Ludlow, WA close to Linda’s parents and sisters; finally settling full-time in Port Ludlow. Here they transformed a home on the Squamish Bay to a place where they continued to share their spiritual message with friends across the world. And when Tom could no longer travel, friends and seekers came to them. Every Tuesday they met with their regular Course group until close to his death. When Tom suffered a stroke in July of 2018, it seemed a turning point in their lives. Linda had been experiencing the early symptoms of dementia for several years but together they’d been able to maintain their home and their independence through the love and support of their spiritual community. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be enough. Through the next year and a half, a rotation of their children and friends came to stay and help them as often as possible. Linda’s dementia progressed and while the stroke didn’t rob Tom of any cognitive functions, his body was failing. During Tom’s last year, he lamented that they were so far away from any of their now grown children and their families. It seemed a true regret of his. With the growing threat of the coronavirus and the toll the virus was taking on the elderly and those suffering with breathing related health concerns, Tom insisted that he would not go into the hospital. He seemed to be making a proclamation that he would die at home. In the end, due a fall and numerous health related complications, Tom was hospitalized in early May. Knowing that his beloved Linda would be cared for, he was finally able to come to terms with his mortality and agreed to hospice care. He died peacefully at 5:22 on May 8, 2020. We who loved him want him to be remembered for his love of fishing, French fries, golf, scotch, gorp, his beloved sports teams, his appreciation for long running jokes (chocolate covered cherry anyone?), Maxwell Smart, and pretty much anything with Macadamia nuts! In addition to their children, Tom is survived by his grandchildren, Melissa Barru, Christopher Carpenter (Brittany Ching) Matthew Barru; great grandson, Oliver Carpenter; the Powells: Steven, Julie, Grace and Jaxson; the Greens: Danielle, Kevin, Noah, June and Stevie; Ellen Winston, Averil Winston, Alec Winston, Cole Winston, Kate Winston, Amanda Lam and Ryan Lam.