Kathleen Purvis

1948 - 2024

Kathleen Katie Purvis, 76, of North Attleboro, died on September 29, 2024. She was the wife of David O. Lockhart whom she married on April 19, 1981.

She was born on May 7, 1948 in Cambridge, MA and lived there until she was an adult.

Katies embrace of feminism was solidified as one of a very few female management majors, first at Bryant & Stratton Jr. College and then at Suffolk University, both in Boston. The bias she encountered amazed and enraged her. It was at this time also that she discovered her talents as an actress, writer and poet.

Katie then became active at the Paulist Center in Boston where she was engaged in both the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War. She was a lifelong pacifist. She also had the privilege of working with the late Fr. Pat Hughes who founded the Greater Boston Walks for Hunger. Because of her hands-on work in Fr. Hughes soup kitchens, she radically changed her career plans in theater management and entered Andover Newton Theological School and earned the degree of Master of Divinity.

After initial training as a chaplain at the former Boston City Hospital, Katie became a Chaplain Resident and a Supervisor of chaplaincy students at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. Two joyous events occurred then. She met and married her husband, David Lockhart. She also was received into the Episcopal Church. Katie became a chaplain at St. Josephs Hospital in Tacoma, WA upon completion of her residency. Katie and David were fond of their hikes on Mt. Rainier and surrounding Puget Sound area.

Following the birth of her first son, Richard, she developed the first of a string of serious illnesses and disabilities that challenged the rest of her life. Katie made it clear that she would not be an invalid and creatively strategized ways to work around her limitations. She became well-known for her colorful canes and the horn on her wheelchair.

Moving back to the Boston area, Katie became the Director of Religious Education at Epiphany Parish in Walpole, MA and then the Lay Assistant to the Rector at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown, MA. In all her pastoral assignments, she was highly regarded for her preaching and counseling skills.

Taking up residence in North Attleboro, Katie again shifted career goals and received the degree of Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She was then hired as a clinician at New Hope.

When she was laid off from New Hope, she founded Working For Work, a support group for the unemployed. She was pleased also to join the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross. This is a group of remarkable Episcopalian women dedicated to a rule of prayer and social justice.

Katies other interests included needlepoint, film, museums, politics, gardening, zoos and traveling throughout the United States.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her sister, Eileen M. Purvis, of Buxton, Maine and her two sons, Richard and Frederick Lockhart of North Attleboro.

Visitation will take place at the Sperry & McHoul Funeral Home, 15 Grove Street, North Attleboro on Monday, October 7, 2024 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. A Eucharistic celebration of her life will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 647 North Main Street, Attleboro on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 11:00 AM. Interment with prayers will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery & Arboretum in North Attleboro. Relatives and friends are most Kindly invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, people are invited to make donations to either The Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (46 Elm Street, Byfield, MA 01922), Al-Anon, or to Grace Episcopal Church (104 North Washington Street, North Attleboro, MA 02760).

To sign an online guestbook, please visit www.sperrymchoul.com.