Eleanor A. Carpenter

Eleanor A Carpenter (Greenleaf), 103, of Bristol, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at Ingraham Manor.
She was predeceased by her beloved husband, William E Carpenter, who she married on December 24, 1942 at Asbury Methodist Church. After he returned from his service with the Army during WW-2, they raised their family in Bristol.
Born on November 24, 1917, the daughter of the late Jerome and Agnes (MacNaught) Greenleaf, Eleanor was a life-long resident of Bristol and attended Bristol High School, graduating in 1936. She worked on assembly at various local factories, including Veeder Root, Smith Gates, Ingraham Clock and Bussman Manufacturing. After retirement, she enjoyed various arts and crafts, taking day trips with friends from the Bristol Senior Center, and was an avid artist. She painted mostly landscapes and scenery, including lighthouses, barns, and covered bridges, and gave her beautiful paintings to family and friends all across the country and even Australia. She took art classes at the Senior Center and has had her art displayed at local art shows and on Nutmeg TV with her friend and art teacher, Dawn Lombardi.
Eleanor loved going to the movies and out to dinner. She also loved driving around in her 2001 Saturn and didn’t give up driving until she was 100. Her most precious past-time was spending time with her loving family, especially her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She spent so much of her time playing with them, reading to them, making arts and crafts, painting, coloring, and even watching them as they went fishing. She loved watching all sports on TV especially the Red Sox and UCONN Huskies men's basketball team. Her children have many wonderful memories of camping at Hammonasset and summer family camping trips from Florida to Canada and Cape Cod.
In addition to her parents and husband, Eleanor was pre-deceased by her 4 brothers, Alfred, Frederick, Thomas, and Jerome Greenleaf, sister-in-laws Loretta Greenleaf and Evelyn Greenleaf, and nephew Thomas Greenleaf. She is survived by her 3 children: son William and wife Mary Anne of Watertown, son Robert and wife Linda of Old Saybrook, and daughter Nancy of Clinton. Also her precious life-long friend and sister-in-law Trudy Greenleaf of Bristol, grandchildren Megan Carpenter Pabst, Will Carpenter, Michael Carpenter and fiancée Elizabeth Schumacher, Lauren Carpenter Martinez and husband Garrett Martinez, and 2 great-grandchildren Eleanor ("Ellie") and Dylan Martinez, along with many loving nieces and nephews.
The family would like to express their heart-felt thanks to the nurses and staff at Bristol Hospital and Ingraham Manor, who took such loving care of her over these last 2 months, and the caregivers from HRA and MR Home Care for their care and companionship in her later years.
Services for Eleanor will be provided by O'Brien Funeral Home, 24 Lincoln Ave, Bristol. Friends and family may pay their respects at the funeral home from 9:00-10:30am on Monday, October 18th, followed by an 11:00 am service at Zion Lutheran Church, 27 Judd St, Bristol. Burial will follow at Forestville Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Eleanor's memory to Meals for Neighbors, 27 Judd St. Bristol CT 06010. To leave an online message of condolence, share a memory or a photo, please visit Eleanor’s tribute page at www.OBrien-FuneralHome.com