Ralph F. Carpenter

FLORENCE - Ralph F. Carpenter, a lifelong resident of Florence, passed away suddenly and peacefully with his wife and two daughters by his side, five days before his 74th birthday. Born in Northampton to Forrest and Charlotte (Sawin) Carpenter on April 9, 1951, he grew up in Florence and graduated from Northampton High School in 1970. After high school, Ralph enlisted in the U.S. Navy under the Navy’s High School Airman Graduate Training Program. While in the Navy he served at USNAF in Sigonella, Sicily. He had many exciting adventures on his Indian Motorcycle, which he loved to share stories about. After that, he served in the reserves, where he did a two-week tour on the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt CV 42. Ralph was an ABF (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate), fueling aircraft in his purple vest. Ralph and his wife Ann (Uhlig) were married on August 7, 1976, at Florence Congregational Church. Ralph was a fire fighter at the V.A. Hospital for about 5 years. After that, he worked briefly in the boiler rooms at HCC and the Holyoke Soldiers Home. In 1981, he started working at the Mount Tom Power Plant, where he retired in 2014 as a 2nd class engineer. Ralph had many hobbies, he was an amateur Ham Radio Operator, going by the call sign KA1V, talking with friends all over the world. He owned his own plane, a Piper Cherokee 180 “Juliet”, flying his family all over the country including Cape Cod, Atlantic City and Hershey PA. He especially enjoyed flying over traffic jams as he didn’t like to sit in line on the highway. One of his last flights was to New Mexico to see a longtime friend, no cell phones and in the days of paper flight maps. Ralph was predeceased by his parents, Forrest and Charlotte, his son-in-law, Mark Bidus and his brother Paul. He leaves his beloved wife of 48 years, Ann (Uhlig) Carpenter. His daughter, Sarah (Carpenter) Bidus and her children, Nathaniel, Gregory and Olivia and his daughter, Linda Carpenter and her partner Jonathan Kulzer. His sister Susan Carpenter of Florence, sister-in-law Christine Carpenter of Easthampton and several nieces and nephews. Calling hours at Ahearn Funeral Home, Northampton will be Wednesday evening from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. Funeral Service will be Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Ahearn Funeral Home at 10:00 A.M. with Pastor Jack Cooper, Officiant, followed by burial with Military Honors in Spring Grove Cemetery, Florence.