Henry Harrison Purdy

Henry Harrison Purdy, of Easton, MD, a former Mayor of Easton and civic and fraternal leader, died at Memorial Hospital at Easton on Tuesday, October 12, 2004. He was 87. Born in Northumberland, PA, January 17, 1917, he was the son of the late Henry H. and Neva Parlett Purdy. After graduating from Williamsport High School in Williamsport, PA in 1934, he completed postgraduate studies at the school before working for the Penna-Reading Seashore Railroad Line. In 1937, he moved to Easton where he worked at Price’s Tire Shop, then the Oxford Boatyard and then back to Price’s before joining the U. S. Navy in 1942. During his enlistment, he served at Bainbridge Naval Training Center and then in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. Following his release from active duty, he returned to Easton where he opened his own bookkeeping and tax accounting business. In 1971, he sold his business to Ellin & Tucker, CPA, but remained with the firm. In 1976, the business was sold to Brown and Wallace with whom he continued his service until December of 1978 when he went back into private practice in which he remained active until the time of his death. From 1969 until his death, he was the Secretary-Treasurer of Spring Hill Cemetery Association in Easton. Active in local politics, Mr. Purdy served as Councilman for Ward 1 from 1954 until being elected Mayor of Easton in 1971. He served two terms as Mayor and then from 1979 until 1981, was the President of the Town Council. He had served as Secretary of the Talbot County Board of Election Supervisors for eight years and then, for four years, as a member of the board. A member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Municipal League from 1962 until 1979, he served as President of the League from 1966 until 1967, the first Councilman ever to be elected to that position. He was inducted into the Maryland Municipal League Hall of Fame in June of 2000. He was also a Past Secretary-Treasurer of the Easton Businessmen’s Association that is now the Chamber of Commerce. He was a member and Past President of the Easton Rotary Club A longtime member of Christ Church in Easton where he was a Past Vestryman, Senior Warden for three years, a Lay Reader from 1937 until just recently and Church Treasurer from 1954 until 1983, he had served as President of the Lay Readers Guild in the Easton Diocese and as the Diocesan Auditor. A 60-year member of Coats Lodge #102, A.F. & A. M. in Easton where he had served as Treasurer, Junior Steward, Senior Steward and Secretary, he was also a member of Talbot Royal Arch Chapter #22 and the Order of the Eastern Star #65. Other memberships included E. E. Streets Post #5118, V.F.W. in Easton, the Talbot Post #70, American Legion and the 40 & 8, Voiture Locale #1371. Dedicated to fire service, he was a 60-year member of the Easton Volunteer Fire Company where he served as Secretary, Trustee and Vice-President. He became a Life Member of the Dept. in 1967 and was awarded the Marvin F. Gates Service Cup Award in 1991 for 50 years of continuous service given by the Maryland State Firemen’s Association. He was honored by being inducted into the Eastern Shore Volunteer Firemen’s Association, Delmarva Firemen’s Association, the Talbot County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, the Maryland State Firemen’s Association and the Firemen’s Historical Foundation of Delmarva, Inc. Halls of Fame. At the time of his death, he was Chairman Emeritus of the Auditing Committee of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association, having served as Chair of that committee for many years. His first wife, the former Elmira Collins whom he married in October of 1940, died in May of 1978. Mr. Purdy is survived by his wife, the former Anna G. Patrick whom he married in July of 1982; a daughter, Margaret Ann Lednum and her husband, Ira, of Easton; a son, Henry H. Purdy, Jr. of Federalsburg; two step-sons, Dale L. Patrick of Edgewater, MD and Frank E. Patrick, Jr. of Carrollton, VA; eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Ann C. Bowdle of Easton; a nephew, Donald C. Stewart, Jr. of Easton and a cousin, Betty Jane Brailer of Bedford, PA. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 16th, at 3 P.M. at Christ Church, Easton. Burial, with Fire Department Honors, will be at Spring Hill Cemetery, Easton. Friends may call at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, on Friday evening, October 15th, from 7 – 9 P.M. Memorial donations may be made to the Easton Volunteer Fire Department, 315 Aurora Park Drive, Easton Md. 21601 or to the American Diabetes Association, Eastern Shore Chapter, 114 Baptist Street, Salisbury, MD 21801. .