Charles H. Purdum Jr.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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He was born March 16, 1920, in Richmond, Va., to Charles Henry and Virginia Martin Purdum. On Oct. 3, 1942, he married Margaret Vanderveer, who died in 2000.
He was a graduate of Milford High School, and graduated with an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Military Institute in 1942. Upon graduation, he entered the U.S. Army and trained with the original 10th Mountain Division ski troops at Camp Hale, Colo. During World War II, he rode with General Patton’s Third Army in Europe, and also served in the Philippines and in Japan. He remained in the Army reserves for 28 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
After the war, he was president of Sturm and Dillard Gravel Company, Syracuse, from 1946 to 1972. He served the community as a member of the Wawasee Community School Board during the construction of Wawasee High School in 1968. He was also a member of the Milford United Methodist Church, an active participant in the Kosciusko County Republican Party for many years and a member of the Quiet Birdmen.
Surviving are three daughters: Ann (and spouse Carlos) Bennett, Dayton, Ohio; Janet (and spouse Larry) Lant, Syracuse; Amy (and spouse Scott) Williams, Jackson, Wyo.; four grandchildren: Christina (and spouse Tony) Handorf and Jeremy (and spouse Charity) Jackson, all of Ohio; Joanna (and spouse Michael) Prescott, Syracuse; Margaret Williams, Wyoming; four great-grandchildren: and a dear friend, Audra Shenk, Louisville, Ky.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse. Burial is in Milford cemetery with military honors.
Calling is one hour prior to services Wednesday.
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He was born March 16, 1920, in Richmond, Va., to Charles Henry and Virginia Martin Purdum. On Oct. 3, 1942, he married Margaret Vanderveer, who died in 2000.
He was a graduate of Milford High School, and graduated with an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Military Institute in 1942. Upon graduation, he entered the U.S. Army and trained with the original 10th Mountain Division ski troops at Camp Hale, Colo. During World War II, he rode with General Patton’s Third Army in Europe, and also served in the Philippines and in Japan. He remained in the Army reserves for 28 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
After the war, he was president of Sturm and Dillard Gravel Company, Syracuse, from 1946 to 1972. He served the community as a member of the Wawasee Community School Board during the construction of Wawasee High School in 1968. He was also a member of the Milford United Methodist Church, an active participant in the Kosciusko County Republican Party for many years and a member of the Quiet Birdmen.
Surviving are three daughters: Ann (and spouse Carlos) Bennett, Dayton, Ohio; Janet (and spouse Larry) Lant, Syracuse; Amy (and spouse Scott) Williams, Jackson, Wyo.; four grandchildren: Christina (and spouse Tony) Handorf and Jeremy (and spouse Charity) Jackson, all of Ohio; Joanna (and spouse Michael) Prescott, Syracuse; Margaret Williams, Wyoming; four great-grandchildren: and a dear friend, Audra Shenk, Louisville, Ky.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse. Burial is in Milford cemetery with military honors.
Calling is one hour prior to services Wednesday.
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