Obituary: Paul H. "Carp" Carpenter

Paul H. "Carp" Carpenter, 62, passed away Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. He was born Nov. 26, 1960, in Benson, Minnesota, the son of Donald and Lorraine "Rae" (Holtan) Carpenter.

Paul grew up in Carlton and graduated from Carlton High School in 1979. In 1982, he and Mike Balow purchased the Third Base Bar in Carlton and ran it until 2004. He was a member of the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association and received the Retailer of the Year award.

Paul married Sarah Katzmarek on May 28, 2006, and they owned and operated the Mother Nature & Co. flower shop from 2006 to 2009.

Paul was one of the top car salesmen in the area for many years. He made twice-weekly

appearances on WKLK/WMOZ Radio's The A-Squad morning show. He was a man of faith and was taking a three-year college course on divinity, and was a proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 18 years.

Paul especially loved spending time with his wife and family.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents; his wife's parents, Raymond and Kathleen Katzmarek; and a brother-in-law, Samuel Katzmarek. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; daughters, Paige (Aaron) Dittberner, Alexis (Matt Brown) Carpenter, and Tayler (Ben Ranallo) Carpenter; one sister, Lori (Todd) Folie; stepchildren, Jennifer (Jed) Graves, Chris (Jen) Kuras, and Nicholas (Lynsee) Kuras; grandchildren, Harper, Cora, Sam, Austin, Madison, Aurora, Jaxon, Solveig, Trygve, Kelsey, Kaylee and Grace; one nephew, Dane Folie; and Matt Ostby.

Visitation: 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet. Visitation will resume 1-3 p.m. Sunday, followed by a memorial service at Grace Church in Cloquet.