Patricia L. Carpenter, age 71, died Saturday, January 16, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Society in Clear Lake, South Dakota. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 20, 2016, at First Lutheran Church in Volga, with interment in the church cemetery. Visitations will precede services at the church Wednesday morning.

Patricia Lorraine Carpenter was born in Brookings, SD on July 3, 1944, to Leonard and Genevieve (Olson) Tenning. The family resided on a farm near Sinai until Pat was 3 years, when they moved to a farm east of Volga. She attended elementary and high school in Volga, graduating as valedictorian of her class in 1962. She attended the National School of Business in Rapid City, S.D., where she met Billy Joe Carpenter, who was in the Air Force. They married at Volga on Dec. 30, 1964 and resided in Rapid City until Joe's discharge from the Air Force when they moved to his hometown of Hopkinsville, KY. They spent much of their married life in KY and some years near Nunda, SD. Two sons, William and Charles, were born to them. After Joe's death on Oct. 13, 1989, Pat lived at Volga and in Pierre and also western SD near Billy. At the time of her death she was a resident of the Duel Co. Good Samaritan Home at Clear Lake.

Pat loved reading, especially history, animals, and was a talented artist in several media.

Pat is survived by two sons, William (Julie) of Sturgis, Charles of Mannington, KY, one granddaughter, Brandi Lentzen of Clark and one grandson, Joel Carpenter of Sturgis, two step-granddaughters, Brittany and Cassie and several great-grandchildren, and one sister, Virginia (Leland) Schlimmer, of Volga , a niece, two nephews and seven cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.