Former Bainbridge Isaland resident David Eugene Carpenter died unexpectedly of a stroke Sept. 30 in Bellingham. He was 70.

He was born Sept. 13, 1935, in Frederick, Md., to Raymond Eldred and Mabel Pearl Carpenter.

Dave served in the Civil Air Patrol as a teen, and the Strategic Air Command in the Air Force. He was a lifelong member and frequent chapter officer of the Experimental Aircraft Association; he worked on several experimental aircraft and made many trips to the EAA conventions and fly-ins.

He was a ham radio operator and held private and commercial pilot licenses. He could name by sight and give additional details about almost any aircraft.

After majoring in aeronautical engineering at the University of Maryland, he pursued a lifelong career in civil engineering and engineering management.

His work took him up and down the East Coast, to Hawaii, Saudi Arabia and Washington state.

He worked as senior engineer for the construction and start up of the Trident submarine training facility in Bangor, and he enjoyed living on Bainbridge Island for 26 years from 1976-2002.

In “retirement,” he worked part time in Bellingham for the family business, Culligan Water, Inc.

He was an avid reader and a world history buff. He loved fishing and sailing in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.

The day before he died he was practicing his latest hobby and was thrilled to find a small amount of gold flake nearby in Canada.

He is survived by wife Charlotte Carpenter of Birch Bay, Wash., daughter Julie Carpenter, son-in-law Eric Clarke and granddaughter Katie Clarke of Bellingham, and by additional family in Maryland and Georgia.

The family will scatter his ashes in Puget Sound. Friends may visit a virtual memorial at www.jonesmoles.com, where their personal remembrances are welcomed.