Obituary of Leona K. Purdy

Leona Katherine Tifft Purdy, 95, of Surbrook Road, Baldwinsville, passed away on Sunday, February 8, 2009. Leona was born in Pierrepont Manor, NY. The youngest of five children to Henry A. Tifft and Rosa Belle Tanner Tifft. She came to Syracuse, when twelve years old. Graduating from Croton School (Now the Martin Luther King School) Leona entered Syracuse Central High School in the Fall of 1929 and was a student there until 1933. In the summer of 1933 (while on vacation near Baldwinsville) she became engaged to Franklin T. Purdy of Baldwinsville and they were married on February 6, 1934. She became an active volunteer during World War II, as Red Cross Representative and Chairman for the Township of Lysander. Ever Patriotic, Leona went to work at Carrier Corp., assembling parts for warplanes. She left this job after a short period of time, unhappy with her three children being under the care of a sitter, she chose to stay home and care for them, until they all were older and enrolled in school. At that time, she became an employee of General Electric, in the engineering department. After ten years, she took the Civil Service test and became an employee of Onondaga County, in the purchasing department. After retirement from there, she decided to remain home, spending more time with family and pursuing her love of poetry. A collection of her poems was published by Vantage Press in 1989. The book “Poems of Wonder and Delight Poems from The Silence of the Night” was a modest success and continues to sell. Leona’s husband, Franklin, died on April 27, 1991, after fifty-seven years of marriage. She still resided in the house on Surbrook Road that Franklin Built in 1936 until November 2008 when she went to live at Iroquois Nursing Home in Jamesville, NY. Leona’s family history went back to maternal and fraternal grandfathers, both Veterans of the Civil War. On her paternal side, her lineage went back to Sir William Johnson, English Agent for the Mohawks and the Indian girl he married. Leona was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church and its Women of Grace. She was also a member of the Liverpool Elks Ladies Auxiliary, The Elks Senior Club and the Elks National Foundation. Surviving: daughter Barbara an Son-in-Law Phillip W. Sisk, Sr. of Vandalia, Ohio, Roseanna and Son-in-Law Francis Nardi of Orlando, Florida, Franklin H. Purdy II of Baldwinsville, NY. Five grandchildren, Six great grandchildren, three nieces, four nephews and several cousins. Services: 10:30am Friday, February 13, 2009 at Grace Episcopal Church, Baldwinsville. Burial, Riverview Cemetery, Baldwinsville. Calling hours are 4-7pm Thursday, February 12, 2009 at Falardeau Funeral Home, 93 Downer St., Baldwinsville. Donations: Grace Episcopal Church Memorial Garden Liverpool Elks Lodge Ladies Auxiliary.