Lawrence "Larry" Purcell

Lawrence M. “Larry” Purcell, 83, Atchison, Kansas, a former longtime Atchison City Commissioner, died Saturday, November 2, 2019 at the Atchison Hospital.

Memorial services will be Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 2:00 P.M. in the chapel of Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home with Rev. Jeremy Heppler, OSB officiating. Inurnment will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be Friday, November 8th from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Larry was born February 25, 1936, in Atchison, Kansas the son of Frank and Mary Wilburn Purcell. He attended Potter elementary school and then Maur Hill Prep School in Atchison.

He and Bonnie A. Jones were united in marriage on June 19, 1954 in Atchison, Kansas.

Larry served in the United States Army from 1954 until his honorable discharge in 1956.

He was a self-employed plumber and heating and cooling specialist for over forty-five years in Atchison. In addition he also had worked at the Atchison Hospital and owned and operated Purcell’s Landing along the Missouri River in Atchison for over twenty years. Larry also served his fellow Atchison citizens as a city commissioner for over twenty years.

He was a member of St. Benedict Parish and in his spare time he enjoyed fishing and camping. He was a member of the Project Concern and served on the board of the Community Corrections and a member of V.F.W. and Fleming-Jackson-Seever Post #6 of the American Legion.

Survivors include his wife, Bonnie Purcell of the couple’s home in Atchison; three daughters, Sharon (Dennis) Kuhn, Atchison, KS; Debbie (Cary) Stone, Atchison, KS; Diane Dame, Atchison, KS; a brother, John Purcell, Sacramento, CA; two sisters, Frances Ryan, Rogers, Arkansas; Mary Neumann, Gladstone, MO; ten grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Mary; a son, Mike Purcell; two sisters, Doris and Rita.