Mr. Lee Crittenden Carpenter

Lee Carpenter, 89, died March 25, 2015. He was born December 8, 1925 in Oswayo, PA and came to Sarasota in 1989 from Bethesda, MD. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Marines in WWII and with the Seventh fleet as a U.S. Technician during the Korean War. He graduated from Lehigh University as an electrical engineer in 1950. For three years he assisted the Army Anti-Aircraft Command with the testing of the Nike Guided Missile System and siting the Nike defenses of our 14 largest cities during 1952-1954. He later worked 30 years for IBM becoming an Executive Manager and Senior Engineer responsible for development of bombing/navigation systems for the B-52, B-70, B-1 and the A-7D/E aircraft. During this time he also served as a voluntary consultant for the Army, Air Force, Department of Defense, National Security Council, the 1983 President’s Commission on Strategic Forces and testified to the Armed Services Committees of the 97th and 98th Congress regarding U.S. and Soviet Strategic Forces. Lee later worked six years as a Physical Scientist for the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and a Foreign Affairs Advisor for the U.S. State Department. He was the Senior Advisor at the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland during 1985-1988. His professional autobiography, “Memoirs of a Cold Warrior” was published in 2009 and is used in 30 university libraries as a historical reference on the Cold War. Survivors include Barbara, his wife of 63 years, son Lon Alan of Silver Spring, MD, and daughter Lee Ann of Washington, DC. A private memorial service will be held with a subsequent burial at sea. Memorial donations may be made to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital or Tidewell Hospice.