April 26, 1946 – March 13, 2023
Gary Linn Carpenter was born April 26, 1946, to Alva Ray and DeLores (Linn) Carpenter in Wichita, Kan. He attended South School in Neodesha and graduated from Neodesha High in 1964. He came to Wichita to attend Wichita State University, and during that time married Lorita Powell of Neodesha on June 10, 1967.
While in Wichita he took a job at Tweco Products, where he worked for 33 years, starting at the bottom and working his way up. Meanwhile, he started the Automobilia car memorabilia store with Lorita in 1981 because he believed there were others who shared his obsession with cars. He retired from Tweco in 1999.
In 1995 he started the annual Automobilia Car Show in front of his store and blocking off several streets around the store for the evening. The night would end with all the cars cruising Douglas Avenue. The show ended up being Kansas’ largest one-day event. Gary was proud of the fact that the show never got rained out. Later he added a cruise to the Starlight Drive-in so people could watch old movies in their old cars. He also rented the Orpheum Theater during the winter to show classic car movies and host live bands. He even arranged a week-long boat cruise for all car lovers and their families.
Gary and Lorita closed their store in 2019 after 30-plus years in the business and sold the car show so they could retire.
Gary loved all music, and if he wasn’t working, you could probably find him in his recliner listening to some of it. He loved to laugh and was always ready for a good prank. But most of all he loved cars, and his favorite was the 1938 Plymouth he bought for $40 when he was 16. He dated Lorita in that car and it’s still part of his collection.
Survivors include his wife, Lorita; two daughters, Amy Carpenter of El Dorado and Sheree (Art) Prosser of Park City; and five grandchildren: Alexander Coker and Brylee Prosser of Wichita; Kyle Algier of Omaha, Neb.; Addison Rucker of Park City; and Kayleigh Carpenter of Wichita.
A memorial service was held at NewSpring Church in Wichita on May 11, 2023. Volunteers who had helped run Gary’s car shows also held a celebration of life at Wichita’s Riverside Park on July 14, 2023. The event featured several vintage cars and hot rods and was attended by an estimated 200 to 250 people.
