Bruce Neil Carpenter

Bruce Neil Carpenter, 91, of Edmond, Oklahoma passed away on June 24th after a long, age-related illness. Bruce was born in 1933 to Wayne and Helen Carpenter of Bloomfield, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Mines, majoring in geology and petroleum engineering. Bruce was an officer of the Kappa Alpha fraternity and member of the ROTC. Upon graduation, he received his Army rank of First Lieutenant and trained in the Army Corp of Engineers at Fort Belvoir, VA. He served in the Army Reserves until 1964.

Bruce accepted his first job at Schlumberger Oil Field Services in Ridgefield, Connecticut. This was the beginning of a career in the oil and gas industry and continued into a specialization as an expert witness in well logging interpretation. His most renown achievement was the discovery of the Ames Meteor Impact Crater in Ames Oklahoma, in 1991. Bruce interpreted the well log and core samples that resulted in the investment and production of 17.4 million barrels of oil and 79.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas by 2007. Retired at the age of 80, Bruce kept up his keen mind by traveling to fish, hunting for rock specimens, and studying science.

Bruce was preceded in death by his first wife, Eva Orndorff Carpenter, his second wife, Barbara Augustine Carpenter, and his brother James Carpenter. He is survived by his brother, Roger Carpenter, his four children: Julie Kaufman, Kevin Carpenter, Cindy Reed, and Lori Macy; five stepchildren; eighteen grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, July 19th at 1:00 pm at Mission Road Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma. In honor of his lifelong commitments to helping others, especially as an O-negative donor exceeding 20-gallons of blood donations, the family invites you to consider giving the gift of life in his memory. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating blood or making a monetary contribution “In Memory of Bruce Carpenter” at the Oklahoma Blood Institute: https://ourbloodinstitute.org/how/financial-donations/ or https://ourbloodinstitute.org/where