Eleanore “Boo” Carpenter died peacefully at her home in South
Burlington, Vt., on October 27, 2023, surrounded by family, after a
short battle with pancreatic cancer.
Boo was born on
February 2, 1954, in Auburn, N.Y., the daughter of Jean and Charles
Underwood. She graduated from Auburn High School and from the State
University of New York at Plattsburgh and the Upstate Medical Center
with a bachelor’s of science in medical technology in 1976.
In 1981, she married
Mark Sinclair. After living and working in several parts of the
country, Boo and Mark settled in Waitsfield, Vt., where they raised
their two sons but later divorced.
Boo worked in a
variety of places across the country, including Vermont, California,
Arizona, New Mexico and New York. As a medical technologist, she
worked at a number of hospitals and clinics, large and small. While
doing it all, she especially loved “blood banking.” She retired
from her career at the University of Vermont Medical Center in 2020,
after more than 30 years there. She received the Mary E. Breen Award
for teaching undergraduate students and was honored as one of the
medical center’s “Faces” for her service to patients, the lab
and the medical center. While working, Boo was a volunteer at Hope
Lodge.
Boo embraced the
outdoors as she leaned into life with a quiet strength,
determination, resilience and positivity. She especially loved to
hike, cross-country and Alpine ski, bike, paddle, swim, sail, and
play pickleball. She also liked mah-jongg, a voracious game of cards
and solitaire, reading, dancing, travel, and, yes, enjoying a glass
of Jameson at a roadside or ski bar. Boo often paused to enjoy a
sunset, the nightly moon, mountain and lake views, trillium, and
music. This spring, Boo completed another of her many adventures,
backpacking down into, then whitewater rafting, hiking and camping in
the Grand Canyon.
As a two-time
survivor of breast cancer, Boo was a proud and devoted member of
Dragonheart Vermont. She successfully dragonboat paddled to national
championships with her team of breast cancer survivor “sisters,”
including this July in Florida. Her team also competed
internationally. Boo was also on a team that won the first ever Ice
Dragon Boat World Championship in Ottawa.
Boo cherished her
family cottage, located on Owasco Lake. While she loved her adopted
state of Vermont, “Long Point” was a special touchstone. She
revered her time there with her family and friends, including her
beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, their children, her sister and
brother-in-law, along with her golden retrievers.
Boo is predeceased
by her mother, Jean Underwood Marshall; her father, Charles
Underwood; her stepfather, Richard Marshall; and her brother Chuck
Underwood. She is survived by her close sister, Sali Hazard (and
Joe); her brother David Underwood (and Kathaleen); her sons, Beck
Sinclair (and partner Allie Kaye) and David Sinclair (and partner
Isabel Caldwell); and her husband, Chris Carpenter.
Chris and Boo felt
very lucky to have met each other later in life through dragonboat
paddling. They especially enjoyed traveling, their lakes, skiing,
gravel biking, hiking, pickleball, kayaking, backcountry skiing into
huts, cribbage, watching the nightly news, dancing in the kitchen and
playing with Chris’s grandchildren. They were married at Lake
Mansfield on August 13, 2022.
Boo also leaves
behind her special cousins, nieces, nephews, their children,
stepbrothers and stepsister, as well as
many valued friends with whom she kept in touch. Her friends included
those from her childhood and the Auburn, N.Y., schools where she grew
up; her Dragonheart “sisters”; her laboratory colleagues; good
friends from Huntington and the Mad River Valley, where she lived for
20-plus years; her “amigos,” as she called three close friends;
her newer pickleball friends; and those at Vermont Adaptive Ski &
Sports, where she volunteered.
In lieu of flowers,
contributions can be made in Boo’s memory to either Dragonheart
Vermont or Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports.
A celebration of
Boo’s life will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2023, 1:00 p.m.,
at the All Souls Interfaith Gathering, 291 Bostwick Farm Rd.,
Shelburne, VT. Arrangements are in care of Corbin & Palmer
Funeral and Cremation Service. To send online condolences to her
family, please visit vtfuneralhomes.com.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2023.
My deepest condolences to Boo’s family and many friends. I graduated from AHS with Boo. I did not know her well, but knew of her and admired her vivacious personality, her genuine smile, and her signature hat. Her beautiful obituary highlights her full and active life. May your many memories of happy times sustain you in your grief.
In sympathy,
Diane (Cacciotti) McKeon
I grew up on Owasco Lake spending time there every summer and loved Boo – I can still hear her say “Hi, Jess!” with her sweet enthusiastic voice. She was always kind, always generous, and always up for an adventure. I know she will be dearly missed by all, especially by the “lake crew.” Sending love and light to her dear family. I love and miss you all!
Boo was a good friend when we both lived at Grand Canyon National Park. I enjoyed her company, the conversations, and good times together…my deepest sympathies to her family.