Ramona Carpenter

Ramona F. Bland Carpenter departed this life on May 7, 2025, in Eureka, Greenwood County, Kansas. She was born February 28, 1931, at home in Piedmont, Greenwood County, Kansas, to H. C. and Sophia (Boswell) Bland. She attended Piedmont schools and graduated from Piedmont Rural High School in 1947. She attended college in Emporia at Kansas State Teachers College, graduating in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. Ramona taught in Cedar Point, Cottonwood Falls, Augusta, and Topeka, and enjoyed the time with her students. For years, she laughed about one student greeting her by exclaiming, “Hi! Gym…teacher!”

Ramona was always ready for a visit and a cup of coffee. With a ready laugh and smile, stories to tell, a joke or two, and a helping hand, she had many friends. She was a favorite aunt to her nieces and nephews, always ready to play games or give advice. Family was important to Ramona. She called or sent cards for birthdays and special events and made trips to visit whenever possible. Christmases in Texas were particularly special times with her brother’s family.

Ramona married Gus Carpenter, Jr., in 1955. They did not have children but entertained their nieces and nephews whenever opportunities arose. For several years, they attended graduate school in Fort Collins, Colorado, during the summers and taught public school in Kansas during the school year. One year, they traveled to Alaska in a camper and had a great adventure, spending the whole summer on the road. While living in Topeka, they built the home in Piedmont on weekends where Ramona lived for the past 45 years. Gus went to work at Boeing in Wichita when the house was habitable, and they left Topeka for Piedmont. Ramona and Gus divorced in 1998.

Ramona worked in the Greenwood County Attorney’s office and for the Rural Water District in the Otter Creek Township. She served as a board member and treasurer for the Otter Creek Township, was a board member for the Watershed District, and was instrumental in raising funds for the Beaumont Community Building and starting the Beaumont Pasture Golf Tournament. She also served on the Greenwood County Farm Bureau Board and attended the President’s Fly-In at Washington, DC, twice. She was active in the Community Benefit Women’s Educational Club and embroidered many squares for the Community Benefit quilt raffled off every year at their ice cream social, for which she must have made 100 gallons of ice cream over the years. She would also buy raffle tickets for the quilts in the names of her nieces and nephews. Ramona allowed her land to be used for the Governor’s One Shot Turkey Shoot. She was a good shot and was never afraid to burst out of the house with a shotgun to kill an armadillo or coyote when required. She was a judge at the Kansas State Fair for many years. Ramona also volunteered at the Greenwood County Fair and received the Friend of the Fair Award.

She attended the Methodist Church in Piedmont and was always willing to bring a delicious, covered dish to a potluck or soup to a soup supper and worked the Fall Festival for the Piedmont and Beaumont Methodist churches. Ramona loved animals and fed every cat that showed up at her door. Those cats are still being fed today. She usually had a dog or two as well. She had a large garden for many years and canned or froze everything she could. She made bread weekly for years and could make a tasty dish or dessert with ease.

She is survived by her nephew, Mark Bland; and nieces, Frances B. Furry, Carolyn B. Williams, and Marian B. Overstreet; and additional Carpenter nephews and nieces; close friend and caretaker, Arlene Edwards; and many cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her only sibling – brother, Robert; sister-in-law, Leota “Penny”; ex-husband, Gus; and his nephews, Galen Carpenter, Ken Pierce, and Greg Allen.

Cremation has been effected. Ramona will be inurned in the Piedmont Cemetery near her parents and other family members. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Greenwood County 4-H Foundation or to the Beaumont Community Association. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, PO Box 595, Eureka, KS 67045, which is overseeing arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family online at koupfunerals.com.