Rodney C. Carpenter: Leader. Communicator. Creator. Husband. Born Jan. 31, 1952, in Ottawa; died Feb. 12, 2023, in Ottawa, of pneumonia; aged 71.
Rodney C. Carpenter.
Rodney was a creative thinker born with cerebral palsy. He was trapped in a body unable to walk or talk clearly. And yet he lived life to the fullest. Rod had much to say and found his purpose in opening the eyes of the able-bodied community to the needs of those with different abilities. He refused to accept that he and others like him should be held back.
Rod was the eldest of three children in an Air Force family. His parents, Craig and Norah, were told not to expect him to outlive his teen years. Against medical advice at the time, they raised Rod at home. They took postings to locations with specialized facilities for his care and education, returning to Ottawa in 1966.
Rod played board games and cards with his two younger brothers and the three of them would join the neighbourhood kids with Rod in his wheelchair minding the net.
In high school, his teachers saw to it that students helped by taking notes for Rod and moving him between classes. Rod would graduate from Carleton University in 1976 with a BA in psychology.
Then came the inevitable: his parents could no longer care for Rod at home. In his early 20s, he was placed in a group home with intellectually challenged residents. He felt isolated there. With a singular determination to escape, Rod found an entry-level job with the Public Service of Canada. His income enabled him to rent an apartment in Ottawa and pay a caregiver to see to his needs.
Inspired by his newly won independence, Rod formed his own company and called it Unhandicappers. He went on the lecture circuit to provide knowledge and inspire people with disabilities to strive to be independent.
He teamed up with two Ottawa lawyers, Ernest Tannis and Lawrence Greenspon, to found REACH in 1981, the charitable NGO, now an arm of ABLE2, that helps those with disabilities find legal assistance.
Rod couldn’t use his hands to write his signature which meant at the time that he couldn’t use a credit card or sign a cheque. With his new-found legal assistance, he pioneered the right for disabled persons to use facsimile signatures and registered thumbprints for bank accounts and credit cards. Approval of a rubber stamp signature soon followed. During the last 40 years, REACH lawyers have provided legal assistance to thousands of disabled persons and their organizations.
In 1990, Rod married Donna Brydges who was wheelchair-bound from childhood following meningitis. (She survived her husband by three months.) In their heyday, they became a power couple in their community, which included the Carpenter Housing Co-operative. Rod persuaded the Ontario Government and Ottawa City Council to provide financial backing to build this 84-unit complex in southeast Ottawa where they lived and served on the Co-op’s Board. From there Rod commuted to work, eventually to a senior position in the Treasury Board Secretariat with the Public Service of Canada, improving accessibility for all Canadians regardless of physical or mental ability. In recognition of his contributions to the disabled community, Rod was awarded the 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal in 1993 and Ontario’s Community Action Award in 1994.
Retiring in 2017, Rod kept his determination to improve conditions for disabled people, but he made time to enjoy summer days with friends and family at the cottage he and his Donna bought on Mississippi Lake.
To the question, “What is it like not to be able to walk?” he responded, “What’s it like not to be able to fly?” He could fly in his mind’s eye. In so doing, he made things better for many.
Frederic (Rick) Carpenter is Rod’s cousin; Stephen Carpenter (OC) and Geoff Carpenter are Rod’s brothers.
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