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Bill and Connie Carpenter

Co-Owners

William B. Carpenter, Jr., is a native of New Castle, Delaware. He is the son of Elizabeth Gebhart Carpenter and the late William B. Carpenter, Sr. Bill's funeral interest comes with deep roots. His Grandfather and Grandmother, Chandler H. and Mary Anna Fagan Gebhart established the Gebhart Funeral Home in New Castle, DE in 1919. Bill has been involved in the funeral service since the age of 16, beginning working for his uncle, funeral director Chandler H. Gebhart, Jr. Bill is a 1974 graduate of William Penn High School in New Castle. After serving his apprenticeship, he graduated from Delaware Technical and Community College with an Associates Degree in Fire Protection Technology in 1978. Bill graduated Cum Laude from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1979 and became a licensed funeral director and embalmer in 1980. He went on to work for Gebhart Funeral Homes in New Castle and Claymont, DE until 1987, when he moved his family to Sussex County, DE. In 1988, Bill became licensed to sell pre-need insurance in Delaware. In 1994, Bill began working as funeral director and manager of Lofland Funeral Home.In August, 2005, Bill and his wife Connie purchased both the Lofland Funeral Home and McKnatt Funeral Home in Harrington, DE.

Bill has served as President of the Delaware State Funeral Directors Association from 1989 - 1991 and was recognized at the Orlando, Florida N.F.D.A. Convention in 1990 for the largest membership growth for any state in the United States for that year. He is a member of the Delmarva Funeral Service Association and is a member of the Harrington, Felton and Greenwood Rotary Club, known as the Hub Club. Bill is Past-President of the Harrington Business Association.

Connie L. Carpenter is a native of New Castle, DE. She was the daughter of the late Robert L. and Viola Reese Hill. Connie was a graduate of William Penn High School in New Castle and graduated from the Delaware Hospital School of Nursing. She worked at the Delaware Hospital in Wilmington, DE in the Peds/ICU department. Connie married Bill on June 6, 1981 at the New Castle Presbyterian Church.

In 1998, she became an State of Delaware National Registered Emergency Medical Technician and began working as an Emergency Medical Technician. Connie became involved in the funeral business after the McKnatt Funeral Home in Harrington, DE was purchased by J. Sudler Lofland, III of Lofland Funeral Home in 2000. Connie is now currently serving as Vice President and Secretary of both Lofland Funeral Home and McKnatt, Carpenter & Baker Funeral Home.

Bill and Connie have 2 sons: Bill Carpenter, III and Brett Carpenter. Bill is a 2001 graduate of Milford High School and is currently attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO studying Neurological Sciences. Brett is a 2005 graduate of Sussex Technical High School and is graduate of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Both Connie and Bill have been active in the Delaware Volunteer Fire service for over 40 years, Bill as a firefighter and Connie as an NREMT-B and an Instructor at the Delaware State Fire School, specializing in Fire Prevention. Both are Life members of Wilmington Manor Fire Company, and have also served with Good Will Fire Co. of New Castle, Georgetown Fire Co., of Georgetown, DE and currently serving the Carlisle Fire Company of Milford. Connie is a Past-President of the Wilmington Manor Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary, Past Secretary of Good Will Fire Co. and has served as Secretary, Ambulance Lieutenant and Ambulance Captain of the Carlisle Fire Company, Milford. Bill has served as a fire line officer at Wilmington Manor Fire Company and Good Will Fire Co. He also served as Vice-President and a fire line officer at Georgetown Fire Company as well as Secretary, President, fire line officer and most recently as Chief of the Carlisle Fire Company, Milford, DE.

Cell: 302-270-2146

Telephone: 1-302-422-5416

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