Eleanore Larkby Purcell

(1921-2003), artist, musician, genealogist, naturalist, environmental activist and devoted mother and grandmother died at her home January 8, after a brief illness. She was a resident of Dayton for thirty-eight years and active in many civic, artistic and cultural organizations. She was preceded in death by her parents, Oliver Sheldon Larkby Sr. and Lina May Griffith Larkby of Hyde Park, Cincinnati, Ohio, by her first husband Sherwood Kains, of Cincinnati, Ohio and Reading, Pennsylvania, her second husband George Harbor Purcell of Dayton, siblings Oliver Sheldon Larkby, Jr. of Traverse City, Michigan and Virginia Larkby Rhine of Cincinnati. She is survived by two daughters, Valerie Larkby Kains of Oakwood and Susan MacMillan Kains of Hingham, Massachusetts, her stepdaughter Gina Purcell of Enon, Ohio and stepson, George H. Purcell, Jr. of Pasadena, California; niece, Darlene Rhine of Fort Wright, Kentucky; cousin, Stanley Douglas Singleton of London, England; eight grandchildren, Carey Witt of Munich, Germany, Beth Witt Freydank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lydia Ashley Witt of Dayton, James Michael Buehler of Dayton, Ian MacMillan Ahearn and Andrew Agustin Ahearn of Ramapo, New York, Anita Nagpal Schwartz of Boulder, Colorado, and Sara Purcell of Cleveland, Ohio and numerous relatives and friends. Ms. Purcell was a 1938 graduate of Miss Doherty's College Preparatory School for Girls in Cincinnati, College of Design Art and Architecture. She earned another bachelor's degree in education and a masters degree in art education from Kutztown State Teachers College in Pennsylvania. She was a senior fellow of the University of Dayton's Learning in Retirement Program. During the 1940's and 50's, Eleanore helped operate the Deerwood Adirondack Music Center in Saranac Lake, New York. Formerly of Wyomissing, PA, she was a member of the Berks Art Alliance, Christ Episcopal Church and she taught art in the Wyomissing School District and the Cocalico Union School District. In Dayton she was a substitute art teacher in the Centerville Kettering, and Oakwood Schools. Ms. Purcell was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Dayton and active for thirty-eight years in the church choir. She was a lifelong artist exhibiting with numerous galleries and art organizations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, especially the Western Ohio Watercolor Society, the Dayton Painters and Sculptors, and Traveling Brushes, the Women's Art Club of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Art Club. She participated in many genealogical organization such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Montgomery County Genealogical Society. Ms. Purcell's lifelong love of traveling throughout her life took her to remote parts of the USA and Canada, Alaska, New Zealand, and Europe. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to one of the following: Hospice of Dayton, Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm Education Fund, Hamilton County Historical Society, or the Church Music Fund of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. A memorial service to celebrate her life of 81 years will be held at 5:30 PM, Monday, January 20 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 33 W. Dixon Ave. with a reception following the memorial service in the cloister at church.

Funeral Home:
Oakwood Routsong Funeral Home
6 Oakwood Ave.
Oakwood, OH
US 45409