Helen Marjorie (Lipe) Carpenter was born on April 17, 1928, and passed from this world on March 20, 2017, but if you ask her she was only 39 and holding. She was the oldest child born to Shorty & Dolly (Jackson) Lipe and played the part to a T. Even as a child she was a mother hen and couldn't rest until she was sure everyone was safe inside and all the doors were locked, a habit she never let go. She graduated from Holdenville High School in 1947 and loved football so much she would tell whoever would listen that she had been sitting in the same seats for over 40 years. She ran the bus station in town for so long she could recite, "Eastbound bus to Horntown, Calvin, Stuart, McAlester, Fort Smith, Little Rock and Memphis", like it was her name. Helen was a wonderful cook who always had something warm to eat sitting on the stove. Most of all, she loved watching and supporting her grandkids in whatever activity they were participating in, from marching band and cheer to baseball, softball, and pageants. And boy, did she love playing bingo. A true lady through and through, she never left the house before checking her hair and lipstick, not even to head to the cellar in her back yard, that tornado would just have to wait!

She was preceded in death by her husband, Orres Carpenter; siblings Sonny Lipe, Mary Lou (Lipe) Powell; her aunt who raised her as her sister, Katie (Jackson) Gilliam; her only daughter, Sherry (Carpenter) Eaves.

She left behind one brother, Mickey Lipe; two sons, Terry Carpenter and Phillip Carpenter, and one son-in-law, Bill Eaves; grandchildren and great grandchildren: Gina Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Casey Carpenter and daughter Justice Morris; Crystal Carpenter-Hall, wife Sam and son Nate; Michael Creigh Carpenter and children Jeremy, Cameron, Gregory and Trehvor; Kim Eaves Jensen and husband Will and children Wynter and Jesse; Phillichia Carpenter and children Brighton, Preston, William and Kaylee; April (Carpenter) Tozier and husband Allen and children Dakota, Shyan, Kylah, Alexander and Austin; and her great great nephew Damon Powell.

Memorial services will be Friday, April 21, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at the Holdenville Cemetery Chapel with Mr. Bill Robinson officiating.