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Helping others has been a life mission for Leona DeMonnin Carpenter, starting with her large family and extending to a variety of community causes.

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In the November Fountain: Living a life of compassion
10/30/2014

Living a life of compassion
Carpenter leaves positive impact on those in need

By Sarah Robertson
Splash Contributor

Leona DeMonnin Carpenter has spent much of her life helping women, children and families when they need it the most.  She insists it's just her "calling."

The Eastern Washington Association of Young Children has called her "educator of the year." Support Care and Networking called her "volunteer of the year."  And she has even been called "woman of the year" by Junior Colleges.  

But her friend, and former supervisor at Head Start, Kris Miller, says, "She's just one of these people that is genuinely good." 

Carpenter, 76, spent much of her career with the Head Start program at the Community Colleges of Spokane. Her first job involved working on the women's helpline for the colleges.  That's when she decided to become a social worker.  

Her job entailed everything from teaching parents about budgeting and parenting as well as showing the little ones how to brush their teeth.  

"I enjoyed the parenting piece and working with the parents and helping them discover who they were and what they wanted to do," the Liberty Lake resident said. "It was always a job I loved."

Carpenter said she's proud of her role as author of the COAP (Children of Alcoholic Parents) program. She wrote a preschool curriculum for teachers to discuss alcoholism in the home with students. 

"I realized one of the major issues doing home visits was alcoholism, and I asked teachers what they were doing about it.  I wanted to let kids know it wasn't their fault," she said.

She received a grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to write the curriculum, and the Community Colleges of Spokane published it.  It is still used today and has been translated into Spanish.   

Carpenter also had the chance to work with Hmong and Russian families at Head Start. "When refugees first came, I helped them know what was in a can of food.  I helped with grocery shopping and driving rules," she said.

While Carpenter is rather modest about her accomplishments, Miller, her former supervisor, praises Carpenter's impact on the Head Start families. 

"She was probably one of the most caring social workers," Miller said.  "She always went out of her way to assist clients.  She did it through a lot of methods, but I think the most impactful was breaking through the barriers and helping them get more education to help their families."

Miller recalls Carpenter and her late husband often spending weekends picking up furniture and delivering it to Head Start families - or anyone - that needed some help.  

But Miller especially remembers Carpenter helping women overcome their fear of math.  

"She would help women get their GEDs and get into college. Math was a big stumbling block. It kept a lot of people back," Miller said.  "She was ahead of her time to support women in math."

Much of the compassion Carpenter showed (and continues to show) to others stems from her upbringing.  Carpenter lost her mother in a drunken-driving crash.  It was the same crash where her father lost his arm.  Her father was always looking to start over, Carpenter said.  She and her sister spent much of their childhood with their grandmother in South Dakota as well as with foster families.

But rather than focusing on the instability of her childhood, Carpenter seems to see only the positive impact of those around her. 

"There were some important people in my life. My grandmother taught me the value of hard work.  Work never hurt anybody," Carpenter said. "My teacher in seventh grade taught me unconditional love.  She never gave me a good grade but always a hug.  And my foster parents, Grace and Jerry Wolfe.  They wanted a baby and got a teenager.  They were both teachers.  They stuck by me."

Carpenter went on to have a very large family as well. She has 12 children, including a foster daughter one of her kids brought home.  She was only meant to stay a few weeks, but "we convinced her to stay and finish high school," Carpenter said.

Carpenter loves having a large family. 

"The value of the big family is that they all learn to work and cooperate, share, and you always have a mediator in the family," Carpenter said. "I think there is a real quality that comes from large families."

It also gave the recent newlywed something in common with her current husband. Carpenter recalls that in filling out a form for a senior dating website, she could only list 10 children.  Bob, her husband, had the same problem and the same number of children.

Carpenter feels quite fortunate that most of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are in the area or scattered around the West.  But what she really treasures is her sister living across the street from her after so many years apart.  

Often separated when they were young, Carpenter's sister, Phyllis Varney, says they have been "practically inseparable" since they were in their 40s.  Both say their favorite moments are "sister days," where they spend the whole day together.  They especially enjoy grabbing Taco Bell and picnicking by the lake. Through all the years of separation, Varney says, "we always knew we were there for each other."

"Sister days" are just one way that Carpenter is keeping busy since retiring in 2003.  She spent a year working with incarcerated women at Pine Lodge.  She taught parenting, budgeting and self-esteem. 

"Most of the women did not have their children, but there was the expectation that they would get them when they were released," she said. "I really felt like I was leaving a positive impact."

For the past 11 years, Carpenter has been organizing a baby shower at her church (St. Joseph's) to benefit Catholic Charities.  The event started as a challenge from St. Mary's in Spokane Valley. 

"The wonderful thing that keeps me doing it is the generosity of the people of the community.  It's overwhelming to know how generous people's hearts are.  Even in a down economy people are so generous," she said. 

Carpenter shows no signs of slowing down.  As Miller says, "she is just the kind of person that is filled with joy and always shares that joy with others."

• • • 

Profiles: Leona Carpenter

Age
76

Favorite Liberty Lake restaurant
Barlows

Favorite spot in Liberty Lake
Pavillion Park

Favorite Liberty Lake activity
"I love the Farmers Market!"

Favorite trip
Alaskan cruise she took with her husband, Bob

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