Myron M. Carmen

Myron Mitchell Carmen, born November 10, 1910 passed away at home peacefully on November 25th surrounded by his loving family. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, he was the eighth of nine children and the last surviving child. After graduating Central High School in 1928, he went on to premed at the University of Texas in Austin. But he and his siblings had already developed a successful merchandising company in Syracuse, NY, The Carmen Supply Company, and he cut college short to join his family's business. In 1941 he married Mim Miller of Syracuse, and just celebrated 64 years together just prior to his death. In 1951 he and his brother Morton formed Whitehouse Supply Company on the north side of Syracuse which both brothers ran until Myron's retirement in 1985. Mr. Carmen and his wife moved to Sedona from Palm Springs, California in 1990. Friends and loved ones who knew Mr. Carmen appreciated his warm smile, his loving nature and his rich sense of humor, right up until his death. Perhaps his most notable achievement was development of the mortar rifle for the U.S. Army, with accurate short- or long-range capabilities. As a private in the Army, he observed that mortar shells during practice drills were killing our own soldiers. He informed his superior officer that he could solve that problem and was assigned to the draft room where he spent a year on its design. He corresponded with the War Department in Washington, DC, over that year and when he left the military he did not know what had become of his design. As sometimes happens in Sedona, he was in the waiting room of his dentist last year when he revealed his rifle design to a gentleman. He told Mr. Carmen that during his deployment in Vietnam that this weapon was his weapon of choice. Thus, apparently without military fanfare, Mr. Carmen's design was implemented and was proven to save lives. In his later years, Mr. Carmen found his passion for writing a novel, and after working on it for many years, completed this love story around the Lincoln assassination. Prior to Mr. Carmen's death, it had not yet found a publisher. Mr. Carmen is survived by his loving wife Mim; daughter Joan Rifken, a social worker living in California; his son Richard, a Doctor of Audiology in Sedona; daughter Joy, a real estate broker in Sedona; and three grandchildren, Loren, Rachel and Maitreya. The family held a private graveside ceremony on Wednesday, November 30th in Sedona. Friends may sign Mr. Carmen's online guestbook at www.westcottfuneralhome.com.