Joseph F. Carpenter

Joseph Franklin Carpenter was born in Yerington, Nevada, on January 25, 1950, and grew up there as well as in Sparks, Nevada, and University Park, Maryland. As a young man he served for a year as a page in the U.S. Senate, graduating from high school in 1967. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1980 and went on to receive his Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1985.

Joe devoted the whole of his legal career to the Nevada Supreme Court, joining the court in 1985 and serving it for more than two decades. He retired in 2008 as legal counsel to the court, capping a career of dedicated public service to Nevada's judiciary.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Jewel Carpenter, and his siblings, Judith Spangler and William L. Carpenter. He is remembered by his partner, Anne Knowles, his nephews and their families, his cousin William Carpenter, and many friends from throughout his life.