Phoebe Miller Carpenter, 89, of Orlando, Florida passed away on May 1, 2019. She was born in Orlando on February 3, 1930 to the late Dr. Ralph and Edna Miller. Mrs. Carpenter was predeceased by her husband of 42 years, Gene Carpenter, and her sister, Lois Miller Bush. She leaves behind her daughter, Jeanette Carpenter Schreiber and husband James Schreiber, her son John Carpenter and wife Patti May Carpenter, her son Robert Carpenter and wife Julia Webb Carpenter, and four grandchildren: Sara Schreiber, Daniel Schreiber, Alex Carpenter and William Carpenter.
Mrs. Carpenter was a life-long resident and active member of the Orlando community. She attended Orlando High School and Florida State University. Throughout her civic and professional life, Mrs. Carpenter was a passionate champion and tireless advocate for children and families. She chaired League of Women Voters initiatives that ultimately restructured Orlando’s juvenile detention practices and facilities. She led development of a child day care center at Park Lake Presbyterian Church in 1969 and then worked to establish Community Coordinated Care for Children (4C). In 1995 Mrs. Carpenter retired after 27 years as the founding CEO of 4C, then an $18 million organization supporting parents in locating day care, health care, and child care financial assistance for over 6,000 children, as well as supporting local child care providers with training, a toy library, food programs and nursing personnel. Today 4C’s annual budget is just under $100 million with an even broader array of services, serving over 25,000 children across five counties. Mrs. Carpenter served on the Advisory Committee on Children in the Office of the Governor of Florida, chaired the Florida Dept. of Education Advisory Committee to the School Lunch Program, and was President of the Florida Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and the Florida Children’s Forum. She served on the Boards of the National Day Care and Child Development Council of America and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and as an advisor to committees of the U.S. Congress and other states on models for child care funding.
Other community activities included volunteer and leadership roles in the University of Central Florida Foundation, UCF Town and Gown Council, Junior League, Rosalind Club, Country Club of Orlando, Tiger Bay of Orlando, Orlando Museum of Art and Orange County Historical Society as well as Park Lake Presbyterian Church, All Saints Episcopal Church and First Congregational Church of Winter Park. Recognition of Mrs. Carpenter’s contributions included awards from the Orlando Women’s Executive Council, The Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Walt Disney World, the United Way, the Edythe Bush Charitable Foundation, Senator Bob Graham and Governor Lawton Chiles, with resolutions of appreciation from the Florida House of Representatives, the Orange County Commission and the City of Orlando.
She also grew spectacular rose gardens and loved taking her grandchildren to the beach.
A Celebration of Life for Phoebe Carpenter will be held on May 18 at 12:00 PM at the First Congregational Church of Winter Park, 255 S. Interlachen Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789. Memorial donations may be made to Community Coordinated Care for Children, Inc (4C); the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra; or the UCF Foundation, for the UCF Lake Nona Cancer Center.
