John F. Purcell

  John F. Purcell, 95, of Pottsville, passed away Sunday at home after a brief illness.

  He was born Aug. 14, 1920, in Pottsville, the son of the late Paul A. and Mary E. Hanley Purcell.

  He was a 1938 graduate of Pottsville Catholic High School and a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.

  For many years, he operated Purcell’s Moving and Storage, a business founded by his father. He was a lifelong member of St. Patrick Parish, Pottsville.

  He was preceded in death by his brothers Edward Purcell and Paul Purcell, his daughter, Barbara Purcell Liebner of Pottsville, and daughter-in-law Pat Gilbert Purcell, Flanders, NJ. John Purcell is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mary Alice Mooney Purcell; two daughters, Sheila Purcell, Pottsville, and Kathleen Purcell and her husband Ed Epstein, West River, Md; four sons, Paul Purcell and his wife Mary Corcoran, Auburn, John F. Purcell, Jr., Baltimore, Matthew Purcell, St. Johns, Fla, and Patrick Purcell, Odenton, Md; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Also surviving are sister Marie Scheuren and brother-in-law Frank Scheuren, Pottsville; sister Betsy Morris, Oxford, Pa; brother Richard Purcell, Pottsville, and many nieces and nephews. 

  Service of Remembrance will be held 11:30 A.M. Saturday at James E. Humphrey Funeral Home, Pottsville. Family and friends are invited to call from 10:30 A.M. until the time of services. Memorial donations may be made to the Pottsville Free Public Library 217 W. Market St Pottsville PA, 17901 or St. Patrick Memorial fund 319 Mahantango St., Pottsville PA, 17901. Inurnment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, Pottsville.

  Please share your memories and condolences with John’s family by signing the guest book at www.jehumphreyfuneralhome.com