John William Carper, Jr., 81, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, a former longtime resident of Sweet Home, died July 26, 2006, of natural causes at the home of his daughter in Idaho Falls.
He grew up on a cattle ranch in Hardin, Mont., where his family raised longhorn steers. He had to quit school at an early age to help his mother on the ranch after his parents divorced in 1939.
Mr. Carper entered World War II at the age of 19. Five years later he married Kathryn E. Denver in Salem. They moved to Montana and lived in Hardin on the family ranch for seven years before moving their family to Sweet Home during the summer of 1955. He lived in Sweet Home for 50 years.
Carper worked in the woods, planting trees for the timber services, retired from BN Railroad track maintenance crew in 1985 and worked with his daughter in Marie’s Janitorial service before retiring in 1998. He moved to Idaho Falls on Feb 6, 2005 to be near his daughter, due to Alzheimer’s and congestive heart problems. He lived there at the Mallory House assisted living facility.
Mr. Carper loved the Douglas fir trees in the Sweet Home area and the Santiam River, where he like to fish. He enjoyed camping, yard work, gardening and the family trips to the Oregon coast. He did woodwork with his wife, making clocks and tables from tree burls, and most of all he loved sitting in the evenings in his chair working crossword puzzle until bedtime.
He was a very quiet and wonderful person to be with and a loving father and grandfather. He never complained about anything.
After his wife died in 1999, he did a lot of traveling together with his family, making long trips from Oregon and Idaho to Montana to visit family, which he enjoyed very much.
Survivors include a daughter, Marie Kathryn (Robert) Kennelly of Idaho Falls; two sons, Barlow W. Carper and Terry Lee Carper, both of Sweet Home; a sister and a brother, Lucretia Ray Watson, and Ainsley Taylor Carper, both of Hardin, Mont.; three grandsons; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife; parents; a son, John W. Carper III; and a granddaughter, Corine Carper.