Eleanor Clark Purnell

Purnell, Eleanor Clark Gummey Yerkes died at Heron Point, Chestertown, MD, on Thursday, November 13, 2014. She was 98. El Purnell was born July 4th, 1916, in Philadelphia, PA, and was the daughter of Eleanor Townsend and Clarence H. Clark, III. She attended Kyneton School and Miss Wright’s School in Philadelphia and The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY. El owned a dress shop in Bryn Mawr, PA, prior to her marriage to C. Francis Gummey, Jr., in 1938. She lived in Gwynedd Valley, PA, for 20 years. After the death of her husband in 1955, she married Leonard A Yerkes, Jr., in 1958. They lived in Wilmington, DE, until they moved to Chestertown, MD, in 1975. After the death of Mr. Yerkes, she married J. Hurst Purnell, Jr., in 1992. Mr. Purnell died in 1999. In 2004, El moved to Heron Point in Chestertown and resided there until her death. During her lifetime, El was a member of several Garden Clubs and exhibited in the Philadelphia Flower Show. She was a member of The Colonial Dames, a volunteer in the gift shop at the Delaware Hospital and served on the Kent & Queen Anne’s Hospital Auxiliary, chairing the Auxiliary’s Christmas Shop in 1977 and 1978. She also served on the Board of the Kent County Humane Society. She was a long-time patron of the Philadelphia Orchestra. El was preceded in death by her sister, Sheila Clark Page, and brother, Clarence H. Clark, IV, as well as her stepson, Leonard A. Yerkes, III, and step-grandson, Jonathon Krewatch. She is survived by a son, Charles F. Gummey, Jr., and his wife, Joan (Winkie) of Mendenhall, PA; a daughter, Meg Lenher, and her husband George of Church Hill, MD; four grandchildren; and six great grandchildren. She is also survived by five step-children, eleven step-grandchildren, and numerous step-great-grandchildren. The family wishes to thank Dr. Susan Ross and the staff at Heron Point for their exceptional care and kindness to “Tidi.” Services will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2014, at 11:00 am, at St. Paul’s Church, Kent County, 7600 Sandy Bottom Road, Chestertown, MD. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Eleanor Purnell’s memory to The Heron Point Resident Council E A F (Employees Appreciation Fund), 501 E. Campus Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620 or to St Paul’s Church at the above address.

Eleanor Clark Purnell

July 4, 2014 - November 13, 2014