PHILIP P. CARPER
03/07/1942 - 02/22/2023
Phillip G. Carper, passed away on 02/22/2023 at home surrounded by his family, following a short illness. He was 80. He leaves behind his wife of almost 60 years, Shirley Carper; daughters Kelly Tanner (Troy), Kim Carper-campbell (Dwayne); sister Micky Kearns; grandchildren Riley Roder (Bryen), Braden Tanner, Collin Tanner, Zachary Campbell, Matthew Campbell; and great grandchildren Grayson and Emerson Roder, as well as a large extended family. Phil also shared especially close relationships with Shirley’s brothers, Tom, Raymond and Ronnie Dorsey. He was predeceased by his mother Lucille Lott, father Emmett Carper, brother Emmett E. Carper, sister Deborah Flowers and son Kevin Carper.
Phil was born in Cabot Arkansas in 1942 and lived in Texarkana, AR in his younger years. His family moved to California in the mid 50s and settled in Redlands. He attended junior high and high school in Redlands until he joined the service. He enlisted in the Army in 1959 along with his lifelong friend, Dennis Burr, and served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. Most of his time in the service was spent overseas in Korea.
Phil worked for approximately 35 years in the tile industry starting as a helper, then journeyman tile setter, and eventually owning his own tile business. In later years he built custom homes in the Redlands/yucaipa area. He was always a very hard worker who took pride in his craft and was very successful with anything he did.
The great love of Phil’s life was Shirley and his family. He met Shirley as a young teenager and they married after he left the service, at ages 20 and 21. They had three children in quick succession. Many happy vacations were spent with his young family skiing at the river, taking family trips and having big family get-togethers. Phil and Shirley tragically lost their son, Kevin, as a teenager in a car accident. It was a devastating blow to the entire family and they have grieved this loss ever since. As tragic as this loss was, it also reinforced the bond of the family in the knowledge that life is precious and not to be taken for granted.
In later years, Phil and Shirley traveled quite a lot, seeing much of the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii, Canada, the Caribbean, and they took many trips to Europe, and Central and South America. As the family grew over the years to include spouses and grandchildren and then great grandchildren, some of these trips included the larger extended family. Time spent with family was always incredibly important to Phil and those memories will be cherished forever by his family.
A Celebration of Life will take place at the Elks Club, 663 New York St., Redlands on April 28th, at 1:00 pm. Please RSVP to 909-499-8268.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Phil’s name to the American Cancer Society (donate. cancer.org or 1-800-227-2345).