Donald Dana Purdy M.D.

Donald Dana PURDY, MD 1926 ~ 2008 The world lost another dedicated Family Physician when Donald D. Purdy, MD passed away on October 22, 2008. Don Purdy grew up at the base of Mt. Rainier and loved the beauty, the challenges and the rewards of being in nature; he spent many years trekking through the trails of the Cascades sharing with his six kids that love of the outdoors. With his wife Gwen, he climbed all the local mountains; Mount Rainier was their last climb in July, 1969 with son Jon. He reveled in the natural beauty of the Northwest. Yet, he also devoted his life to improving the community around him. From 1954 to 1976, Dr. Purdy served all of South Whidbey, much of the time the only doctor to the sparse rural community it then was. In 1976, he left Whidbey to run a MD residency program in Georgia (1976-1980), where he established a free clinic for the uninsured. Then in 1981, when it was time to return to private practice, he settled in West Seattle, carrying his service to that community until 1997. He always served the underprivileged whenever he could, never shying away from standing up for the needy; and even after retirement, he traveled the world participating in service-learning projects teaching English and working in orphanages in Poland, China, Romania and Ghana. His family will remember his loud support in the stands at their sports events, his quiet moments reading voraciously or whizzing through the NYT crossword puzzle, his sharp mind in both math and the literary world, and especially, his corny sense of humor. Don died peacefully surrounded by Gwen, his wife of 59 years and their six children, Jon (Adrienne), Joan (Jim), Dana, Dona (Bob), Joel (Kari) and Jann (Jeff). He is survived by ten grandchildren, Megan, Dana, Erin, Canon, Daniel, Evan, Sam, Shon, Dain and Margo, and by his brother Neal of Graham, WA. and his sister Lois Ohlund of Los Gatos, CA. Honoring his request for no services, there will be a private family gathering in 2009. Those wishing to share their memories of Don may send them to donandgwenpurdy@quidnunc.net. In lieu of flowers those wishing to express their condolences may send donations to either one of his favorite charities, Friends Of The Seattle Public Librarywww.splfriends.org 206-386-4098 or Room To Read www.roomtoread.org.