Robert C. Carpenter (born 18 June 1924) was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's fiftieth Senate district, including constituents in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and Transylvania counties. A retired bank executive from Franklin, North Carolina, Carpenter was first elected to the state senate in 1988. He served eight terms, finally losing his seat in 2004 by fewer than 300 votes.[1]
Carpenter was born in Franklin, North Carolina and graduated from Franklin High School in 1942. He briefly attended Western Carolina University before undergoing flight training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and flying with the United States Navy during World War II (from 1943 to 1945). After the war, he graduated from the University of Virginia School of Consumer Banking and served as a bank executive in Franklin until his retirement.
Carpenter has been married twice. His first wife, Ruth, is deceased; Carpenter married T. Helen Edwards Bryant on 18 January 1986. He has eight children. He is the father-in-law of former North Carolina Representative Marge Carpenter (R). He has been a member of the Franklin Rotary Club for 50 years.