Frank Carpenter Eulogy

truevis

Well-Known Member
Frank Carpenter (Host of many AK get-togethers called Frankenfest)

I’ve known Frank only a modest few years. Yet my time with Frank was special. Not only did we become good friends, but I found him an inspiration in many ways.

Frank was soft-spoken, quiet, almost invisible - except for his crumpled tan cloth hat, scruffy beard, and worn jeans. Frank looked the part of a back-woodsman.

We shared a passion for audio. Over the past few years we worked together on a loudspeaker project. Advancing an almost forgotten niche of high efficiency systems. The project involved understanding transducer technology, precise measurement, and skilled craftsmanship. I mention this because I soon came to appreciate Frank’s professionalism and creativity. His approach to the work reminded me of the Zen Archer who becomes one with the bow, the arrow, the arc of flight to the target, and the goal. His was the highest level of skill, concentration, and accomplishment.

Funny the analogy of the Zen Archer comes to mind as I am writing this - funny because Frank was a marksman with a crossbow. He told me he would teach me to shoot his bow next time we met. That was the last time I saw him.

Frank had many dimensions. While unassuming and unpretentious, he was deep - a thinker, an intellectual. He would loan me his journals to read. He shared his fascination with human nature and society. Frank loved a good discussion of ideas.

Frank was an outdoorsman. He liked hunting and then preparing a whole smoked Turkey. Frank was part farmer. Last spring when he visited our home in Cambridge he brought us fresh tomatoes and bell peppers from his vegetable garden.

My search for words to describe Frank quickly became challenging. Too much to say, too limited a vocabulary. At the core, his was a nature where Virtue – high ethical standards – Altruism – an abiding concern for others – and Wisdom reigned. Values that are rare in today’s materialistic and self-aggrandizing world.

--
Steve Hluchan
 
Frank and I had conversations spanning a variety of subjects well outside of the realm of audio. One of the last conversations I had with him was about using a smoker to cook turkey. but we also talked about fatherhood , ethnicity , culture, social activism. and certainly Lots and lots of Audio discussions. He was a good dude and will certainly be missed. I tend to latch on to the most random "lessons" I learn from people. They may not even think they're teaching but I'm learning. " Let the knife do the work..." I hear him saying that often while I'm carving poultry. :) There's a funny story behind that line for anyone who missed what he must have believed was me butchering his smoked turkey while trying to juggle a bunch of stuff in my arms and cutting with one hand with zero leverage. hahahaha A very good dude indeed.
 
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Frank was a good man. A gentle soul that was giving and caring. He will be greatly missed.
 
I always enjoyed sharing books and music with him. Exchanging stories about our gardens etc was always a highlight. My eggs for his strawberries
 
My interaction with Frank was not extensive but always memorable. Mutually grazing over the extensive spread of food laid out on his shop tables during a fest gathering, our conversation might begin by discussing the quiet yet forceful suction strength of the platen on one of his fabricating machines, and the next moment we'd be debating the virtues of various ingredients that go into an excellent salsa dip. All the while standing next to the most beautiful stack of Nakamichi equipment, always coated with a fine layer of sawdust.
 
Soft-spoken, interested in everything, and always eager to listen! A freakin' rock in the AK community, and a legend to all us New Englanders! I'm sorry that our much-discussed project never got off the ground (its one of those long audio-related stories), but Frank was always patient in listening to my half-baked ideas. A great guy in every way...
 
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