David Carpenter, who served as the mayor of Lethbridge from 1986 to 2001, has died. Carpenter, 76, served as a Lethbridge alderman for nine years before moving into the mayor’s seat in 1986, and in 2004 became board chair for the Alberta Workers Compensation Board through 2012. “It is with great sadness that the family of David Bruce Carpenter, husband, father, grandfather and brother, announces his passing. A former mayor of Lethbridge, David lived a remarkable life defined by family, leadership, business, and decades of service to Lethbridge, southern Alberta and Canada,” read an online obituary. “David was elected to Lethbridge city council in 1977, serving three terms as a councillor before being elected mayor in 1986. He served five consecutive terms as mayor, retiring from municipal politics in 2001 after 25 years in elected office.” The obituary also spoke of his connection with the Canadian military, saying Carpenter was proud of his position as honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 20th Independent Field Battery and honorary colonel of the 18th Air Defense Regiment. In 2015, Carpenter took over as administrator of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) board when he was appointed by then-health minister Sarah Hoffman. In his later years, Carpenter became a vocal critic of the United Conservative Party, writing numerous opinion pieces about everything from the Turkish Tylenol case to the idea of creating a provincial pension plan. In 2017, Carpenter was presented with a Senate 150th Anniversary for his long and distinguished record of public service. The award, created for Canada’s 150th anniversary, is awarded to Canadians who, “through generosity, dedication, volunteerism and hard work,” make significant contributions to their communities, according to Senate information, according to the AHS website. Carpenter was selected by Senator Doug Black. “Mr. Carpenter has dedicated his whole life to making his province and community a better place to live,” his citation reads. “I was very surprised and very honoured when I learned of this,” Carpenter said in response to Black’s citation. “I had never met Senator Black and have no knowledge of how he became aware of me. I feel extremely fortunate.” “Since I retired from civic politics in 2001, I’ve been able to engage in some of the most interesting activities,” he says. They include being vice-chair of the Audit Committee of the Alberta Capital Finance Authority of the Province of Alberta, and for AHS as Chair of both the Board’s Finance Committee and Audit and Risk Committee, as well as being a member of the Community Engagement Committee. Carpenter said there’s been one common element to his public service work: “In all these capacities I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some really dedicated and exemplary people — that makes all the difference.” He is survived by his loving wife, Cheryl Arelis of Lethbridge, and his five children: Jill Carpenter (Alex), and their children Hugo and Eloise; Beth Byskal (Ron), and their children Lucas, PJ and Kennedy; Thomas Carpenter (Courtney), and Courtney’s daughter, Nevaeh; Peter Carpenter (Samantha); and Emily Carpenter. David is also survived by his siblings Lynne Dewhirst (Gord), Brian Carpenter (Susanna), and Lee Cameron, together with his many much-loved nieces and nephews.
