Kenneth Lyle Carpenter, 84, was welcomed in God's arms on March 4, 2006, surrounded by his family. He was born in Mt. Morris, Michigan on August 17, 1921 where he spent his early childhood. He spent his formative years in Flint and Saginaw, Michigan during the years of the great depression. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939 and during WWII served as a mechanic crew chief of the 11th pursuit squadron P-40 flying Tigers of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. After the war he served two tours of duty as part of the Military Assistance Advising Group as an ordnance officer, assisting first in Taiwan from 1956-1957 and then in Iran from 1960-1963 before retiring from the Army with the rank of Major. One of his most cherished accomplishments was being a bush pilot in Alaska in the late forties. He continued with a second career as a research and grants contract administrator at the University of Texas at El Paso, and finally at Arizona State University before retiring in 1983. He was preceded in death by his parents Clair and Vera Carpenter, his sister Catherine, and his first wife Alma Hogan. He is survived by his wife Mireille, his son Bill and daughter-in-law Julie from Carson City, Nevada, his son Jeff and daughter-in-law Caroline from Tempe, AZ, his brothers Jerry and Jim from Texas, his niece Cathy Honsa from Queen Creek, AZ, his sisters-in-law Maria Santamaria from Payson, AZ, Claire Cabre from Spain, brother-in-law Vicente and his wife Ursula from Spain, his grandchildren Robert and Kristie from California, his great-grandchildren Dane and Haley from Tennessee and Cole from California. His nephews Jose Maria and wife Li-Jun from Spain, Antonio Cabre and wife Josephine from Spain, Robert Cabre and Elda from Canada, and by so many friends.