Joe Carpenter, husband of Islip Town supervisor, printing business co-founder, dies at 81

Joe Carpenter was a family man — involved, present and "one living dad joke," according to his son.

The land surveyor and co-founder of AC Type & Printing coached sports teams, lined football fields and took his children camping and on road trips through Canada and Oklahoma. He supported his wife, Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, in "whatever endeavor she wanted to go after," said their son Richard Carpenter.

"As a father, he was about as good as they get," said Richard, who took over the family business with his brother when Joe retired. "He was always there."

The "soft-spoken" man had "incredible strength," Richard added, and was devoted to his family, especially his grandchildren, Sydney and Joe.

Angie Carpenter also described her late husband as a "totally devoted husband, father, grandfather and pillar of the community."

When she was first sworn in as supervisor, "their eyes were locked to one another and they both welled up in tears," Richard recalled, adding, "My mom, as tough as she can be, she would melt like milk chocolate around my dad. He was just a very special person."

Joe Carpenter died of several health issues on Nov. 16 at Good Shepherd Hospice at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre. He was 81.

Joe Carpenter was born Jan. 3, 1943, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to George and Erdine Carpenter. He moved around while growing up, Richard said, and graduated from Malverne High School on Long Island.

He is survived by his wife, sons Richard, of Bay Shore, and Robert, of East Islip, who are married to Stacey and Elisangela, respectively; his grandchildren, Sydney and Joe; his brother, James, of Manhattan, Kansas; and his sister-in-law, Mary, of Miami; and several nieces and nephews.

Carpenter worked as a land surveyor for a company in Babylon. Later, when the company dissolved after the owner died, Carpenter founded a typography business with his wife in 1976, according to Richard.

The company, now ACT Communications Group, has since shifted focus to marketing and has been taken over by Richard.

Joe and Angie Carpenter married in 1964, and the couple bought their house in West Islip in 1968.

Family and friends described Joe Carpenter’s involvement in coaching Little League and youth football, and volunteering with local Boy Scouts.

Fire Island News editor Shoshanna McCollum, who recalled seeing Carpenter often around Ocean Beach with his wife while she campaigned, described getting coffee with him at a campaign event last year.

“ ‘I am Joe, Angie’s husband,’ he said to me," she wrote in an online memorial. "He was good company that day."

"The outpouring of respect and support given Joe was truly heartwarming and a well-deserved tribute to the kind and gentle way he lived his life," Angie said. 

The past few years, Joe Carpenter struggled with many health issues, including Parkinson’s disease and heart problems, Richard said.

He added: "But I will tell you this, he went when he wanted to go. There's no if ands or buts on that one."

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.