Purdy, Kenneth P.

Description

Kenneth Francis Purdy

Kenneth Francis Purdy was born on June 14, 1917, in White Plains, New York, to Bertha E Himple, age 23, and Irving J Purdy, age 29. He was raised in Rye and attended Rye High School. In Rye his family lived at 46 Bulkley Manor.

He married Ruth Mitchell Ebbinghaus on May 10, 1942, in Harrison, New York. They had three children in 13 years.

Kenneth enlisted July 28, 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served in the Army’s 87th Division and received a Bronze Star for his service.

The 87th Infantry Division, known as the “Golden Acorn Division”, was activated at Camp McCain, Mississippi, in December 1942. It arrived in Europe in November 1944 and was assigned to General George S. Patton’s Third Army. The division fought in significant engagements, including the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes), the Rhineland campaign, and the Central Europe campaign. It was instrumental in crossing the Moselle and Rhine rivers and capturing the strategic German city of Koblenz, earning the nickname “Liberators of Koblenz”. The division was inactivated in September 1945.

Kenneth received his honorable discharge November 6, 1945 and returned home.

He and his moved to Mamaroneck, NY and Kenneth worked as a butcher for the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. He retired in 1968 and moved to Clearwater, FL.

Kenneth was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Clearwater.
He also was a past commander of American Legion Post 7 and a member and past chef de gare of the American Legion’s 408 Local 54, both in Clearwater. He was also a former captain of the Halstead Manor Fire Department in Mamaroneck.

Kenneth Francis Purdy, 78, of Clearwater, died Friday (Aug. 11, 1995) at Morton Plant Hospital, Clearwater.

At the time of his death, survivors included his wife of 53 years, Ruth; a son, Edward, Clearwater; a daughter, Ruth Cournoyer, Clearwater; three brothers, Irving, Bath, Maine, Roland, Cos Cobb, Conn., and Eugene, Port Chester, N.Y.; a sister, Wilamenia Purdy, Mamaroneck; and three grandchildren. Moss-Feaster Funeral Homes, Belcher Road Chapel, Clearwater.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73288353/obituary…