A former Santa Barbara County Sheriff whose tenure was one of the longest in the county’s history has passed away after a long illness.
The Sheriff’s Office says John Carpenter died on Thursday afternoon in Virginia where he had been living for the past 20 years. He was 87 years old.
Carpenter served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper shortly after World War II and then spent 34 years in law enforcement. He started at the Hermosa Beach Police Department where he rose to the rank of lieutenant before becoming the City of Carpinteria’s first police chief in 1965 and finally Santa Barbara County’s sheriff in 1971. Carpenter was elected Sheriff five times and served in the office for nearly two decades until 1990.
Carpinteria unsuccessfully ran for State Assembly in 1984.
He is survived by his wife, son, four daughters, nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The family is planning a small, private service in Virginia in several weeks.
One of his daughters said in a statement that Santa Barbara gave her dad "the gift of acceptance, unparalleled beauty and a great personal challenge" and their family will always "be grateful and call Santa Barbara home."