Dr. William Purkey

Dr. William (Bill) F. Purkey, 87, of DeBary, FL entered the Lords rest on October 3, 2020. He was the 8th of 11 children born to John B. and Annabelle Purkey in Knoxville, TN. After serving his country in the U.S. Navy for 2 years he attended Olivet Nazarene College where he received a Bachelor's in Education. He went on to earn his Masters in Education at Stetson University, and his Doctorate in Education from Nova University. He began his teaching career in Kankakee, IL. After moving to Orlando in the early 1960's he taught at Colonial High School before becoming an instructor on the Public Broadcast System, Channel 24 while also serving as Assistant Director of the Orlando Planetarium. His love for the classroom led him to Valencia Community College where he thoroughly enjoyed engaging his students for the next 26 years. After retirement he returned to his native TN with his wife Marcia to live out his childhood dreams on their farm. They recently returned to Florida to be close to family. Bill is survived by his wife Marcia, son David, daughter Jill, grandson Cole, beloved niece Patty, and numerous other nieces and nephews. Services are pending at this time. The family of Wi...[more]

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am (Bill) F. Purkey invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in his memory. To read the full obituary, please click here: https://www.degusipefuneralhome.com/obituaries/William-Bill-Purkey/