Jon Charpentier

Jon David Charpentier, 62, of Mission Township, Minn., and formerly of Sanbornton, N.H., died on March 27 at home surrounded by his loving family.

Jon was born April 2, 1960, in Stoughton, Mass., to Doris (Guimond) and William Charpentier, and grew up in Brockton, Mass., and Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Soon after high school, a lifelong love of nature and outdoor adventures led him to Montana, where he earned a degree in film and television from Montana State University in Bozeman in 1987. 

While in Bozeman, he met the love of his life, Brenda Brown, and the two were married one year later in 1988. 

Jon worked for local TV stations in Montana until 1991. Then he and Brenda moved to New Hampshire, where Jon started his 25-year career at the N.H. Fish and Game Department and where the couple delighted in raising their sons Samuel and Benjamin, first in Hopkinton and then in Sanbornton. 

At N.H. Fish and Game, Jon directed his great initiative and creativity into sharing his respect for the natural world with others. He began the now robust broadcast media unit, created and produced the award-winning N.H. Wildlife Journal television series in partnership with N.H. Public Television, and cooperatively developed many other effective educational programs. Along the way he earned a master’s degree in adult education from Plymouth State University. He served as Public Affairs Chief from 2012 until retiring in 2017.

Jon showed steadfast commitment to his family, who knew they could always depend on him. Taking his boys camping, tromping through forests, exploring streams and ocean tide pools, picking blueberries on mountainsides -  these were the best of times for such a devoted dad. He loved fishing (the more remote the spot the better), ardently supporting his sons’ activities, and being an active member of Hill Village Bible Church. His love for Jesus was evident in the way he strove to treat others with compassion and respect. 

Quick-witted and funny, Jon often caused his wife to double over in laughter. He showed amazing courage while living with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which forced him to retire long before he wanted to. It didn’t stop his strong desire to contribute, so he worked during his first months of retirement maintaining N.H. Fish and Game’s boating access properties around the Lakes Region,, and he generously helped others in any way he could.  

In 2017, Jon and his family moved to Mission Township, Minn., where they fished often, took long walks in the woods and tended an ever expanding garden. He enjoyed volunteering for maintenance projects at local kids’ camps and with the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program. 

Even after advanced lung cancer struck in 2020, Jon (who never smoked) continued to work around the yard as he was able and give his best to each day as his wife’s helpful and dear companion. The two illnesses tried to take everything; but in the end, Jon showed that they could not by finding the strength to give comfort with his final words: “I love you.”

He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Brenda; sons Samuel and Benjamin; mother Doris Charpentier; brother and sister-in-law Gary and Candace Charpentier; sister Pamela Charpentier; brother and sister-in-law Marc and Becky Charpentier; sister and brother-in-law Lisa and Herb Lotz; father-in-law Jerome Brown; aunts and uncle; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, William, brother Michael, and niece Simone.

The family will hold a celebration of his life at a later date. 

Arrangements are entrusted to Brenny Family Funeral Chapel, Baxter.