Egils Andris Purins

Egils Purins: A Survivor, Loving Companion and Role Model

Egils Andris Purins died quietly of renal failure on November 18, 2019. As a man with an incredible life story and a sharp sense of humor, he will be remembered with love and sorely missed by family and friends alike.

Born in 1933 in Latvia, Egils's family lived a happy life on a small farm with his father, who was also a policeman. When Russia occupied Latvia and began communist purges, Egils's father was sent to a labor camp, from which he never returned. In 1944, Egils's mother realized that the Soviets would likely reclaim Latvia and, as a worker for the underground, her family was at risk. At the age of 11, with a 6-year-old sister, Egils and his family fled Latvia via sea convoy, leaving everything behind (except, as he tells it, one afghan blanket). Under bombardment and torpedo attack, the ship reached a German camp taking in refugees, but Egils had contracted diphtheria and was quarantined for six weeks. Egils, his mother and his sister struggled with poverty during the war yet felt grateful to have escaped.

Eventually, the war ended yet Russian troops brutally invaded the German town Egils family had sought shelter in. Pretending to be Germans, Egils's mother convinced border guards to let her family cross into the safety of the Western Allied occupied zone. It was here they found solid shelter and reliable food provided by the American military and other refugee organizations.

In 1950, due to the generosity of a church group, Egils and his family were able to emigrate out of the refugee camp and began life again in the United States.

Egils loved the U.S. and flourished with the opportunities available to him. He became an American citizen and graduated from Purdue University. He found his way to Michigan and the auto industry, where he had a successful career as an engineer in the engine department of Ford Motor company. He and his wife, Jean Purins, lived in Detroit, surrounded by family, but also spent time renovating a cabin on a frigid lake in Alpena, MI. It is here that he learned how many tools a man could drop in the water (and recover), how many family members he could get onto a small motorboat before it took on water, and how many memories could be created in a boat house over the water.

Eventually, his love of golf and a search for warmer weather led him and Jean to move to Herons Glen, North Fort Myers. To the dismay of his neighbors who he soundly beat in numerous golf tournaments, Egils was passionate about his golf game, and his stroke and game continued to improve. He could be seen in his kitchen practicing his golf swing at nearly all hours, in between sessions of arguing with Compuserve about his computer's abilities and problems.

With a twinkle in his eye, he often joked with his five grandchildren and four great grandchildren about how he wanted to have two dishwashers (one for clean dishes and one for dirty, 'no need to put dishes back in the cupboard') and how he never bought green bananas anymore in case he wasn't around to see them ripen.

He loved nature, using his bathroom to raise Monarch butterflies, capturing flower buds in detail through his photography, and working in his yard.

Egils is survived by his loving partner, Joy Kenyon Venker, a resident of Heron's Glen. His son, Michael, in Michigan. His stepdaughters, Dona Eggenberger from Corpus Christi, TX and Diana Barrett from Moneta, VA and Herons Glen and their families.

He will be missed by many who have known and loved him throughout his life.

A celebration of Egils's life will be held January 18th at Herons Glen.