Mary Ellen Carpenter, widow of Colonel Dalton O. Carpenter, died on January 18, 2019 at the age of 98. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday Jan. 25, 2019 at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, officiated by the Reverend Dr. Ellen Fowler Skidmore followed by a reception at the church. Burial will be private at a later time. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

Born in Glendale, New York, on July 1, 1920, Mary was the daughter of the late Thomas J. Rew and Lucy Davey Rew. She grew up on Long Island, graduated from Newton High School, studied voice at Julliard, attended John Powers modeling school and modeled for Oscar de La Renta until the early 40's. After the death of her first husband in WWII, she joined the Red Cross and went to Japan. While there she met Dalton O. Carpenter from Newberry, SC, who was serving in the US Army. They married in 1946 in Japan and together had four children and a 47-year marriage. Throughout her husband's long career, Mary moved with her family to a variety of Army posts, including Panama and the Pentagon, ending in Columbia at Fort Jackson.

Mary was an active member of Forest Lake Presbyterian, the Officer's Wives Club, and the Dogwood Garden Club. She participated in many community outreach programs and especially enjoyed volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Throughout her lifetime, she loved to travel with family and friends and was always on the ready for the next trip.

Survivors include her three sons, Donald of Columbia, Gerald of Jensen Beach, Fla., Tom of San Diego, Ca., four grandchildren, Marshall, Jonathan, Kimberly, Dalton, three great-grandchildren, step-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren, her brother, Ret. General Thomas Rew of Columbia and her three nephews. Mary was predeceased by both of her husbands, Colonel Dalton O. Carpenter (1993) and Captain Herbert Brauehler (1944) as well as by her daughter, Susanne Carpenter Baker (1995).

Memorials in Mary's honor may be made to Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, 6500 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206 or to a charity of one's choice.