Obituary for Kenneth G. Purtell

Services for Kenneth Granville Purtell, 97, formerly of Brownfield will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 8, 2012, at Brownfield First United Methodist Church with Dr. Stan Cosby of Amarillo officiating. Burial will be in Terry County Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Brownfield Funeral Home.

A family visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Kenneth passed away Friday, March 2, 2012, in Boone, Iowa. He was born May 7, 1914, in Locksburg, Ark., to Rufus Judson Purtell and Nellie Arnold Purtell Holcombe. He attended Gomez and Lahey schools in Terry County and finished high school in Brownfield in 1934.

Kenneth married Ruth Young on October 26, 1938, in Lubbock. She preceded him in death in 2009. He is also preceded in death by a son, Gene Purtell in 1996.

He attended Texas Tech University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics in 1941. He taught school in 1937 and 1938 at Lahey and worked for the USDA about three years. He also owned and operated Purtell's "Dad and Lad" clothing store for three years.

From 1953 until retirement in 1999 he farmed in the Brownfield area. For most of his adult life, Kenneth was an active worker and board member in the First United Methodist Church. He was a Mason and past director with Lyntegar Electric.

A sister and two brothers also preceded him in death.

Kenneth is survived by a son, Jim Purtell and wife Edna of Sanford, N.C.; a daughter, Hazel Purtell and husband Bob North of Pilot Mound, Iowa; seven grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

Online condolences may be sent at www.BrownfieldFuneralHome.com.

The family suggests memorials to the American Heart Assoc. or National Multiple Sclerosis Society.