David Jay Purdy

David Jay Purdy passed away on November 1, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Born on July 5, 1958 in Beloit,Wisconsin, the son of John C. Purdy (a Presbyterian minister) and Mary C. Purdy, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin; Media, Pennsylvania; and Ridgewood, New Jersey. Blessed with a beautiful tenor voice and acting ability, he acted in plays and musicals in high school and he sang in numerous choirs as a child and then as an adult until 2012. He attended Wooster College (Ohio), then Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he met his wife of 34 years, Joanne Oliva of Somerset, New Jersey. They were married in 1984 and lived in the Fort Tryon area of New York City and later Yonkers, New York; Catonsville, Maryland; and then Littleton, Leadville, and Denver, Colorado.

After getting his BA in religion at Drew (class of 1980), he worked in the Columbia University Libraries and attended Columbia University School of Library Science, where he got his Masters of Library Science in 1986. As a librarian he managed libraries or information services in the aerospace industry: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information. In 2001, Joanne and Dave moved west to be near their retired parents in Colorado & New Mexico. Starting in Littleton, Colorado, they moved to Leadville, Colorado in 2003, where Dave ran the library at Colorado Mountain College.
When their daughter, Mariella Purdy, arrived in 2005 he enjoyed showering her with love and affection, spending endless hours entertaining her. They stayed in Leadville until 2012, when they moved back down to Littleton, near Joanne’s family and four of Mariella’s cousins, where Dave worked for Barnes and Noble and, most recently, the Internal Revenue Service.

David was a member of Presbyterian Church, USA, and enjoyed visiting Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiu, New Mexico, many summers while his father taught there and his mother helped with archaeological digs. He was active in choirs, and later in committees, in many Presbyterian churches throughout his life, including Swarthmore Presbyterian, Pennsylvania; West Side Presbyterian, Ridgewood, New Jersey; Riverdale Presbyterian, Bronx, New York; Babcock Presbyterian (Baltimore), and Catonsville Presbyterian in Maryland; and First Presbyterian of Leadville, Colorado.

Dave enjoyed singing; entertaining; playing guitar, Scrabble and cards; movies; books; trivia; quotes; making people laugh (especially with puns); cooking and spending time with his family, especially his daughter. He was a kind and generous person and a loving husband and father.David is survived by his wife, Joanne Oliva-Purdy; daughter, Mariella Josephine Purdy, of Lakewood, Colorado; sister, Margaret Dean of Santa Fe, New Mexico; brother, Thomas Purdy, of Baltimore, Maryland; nephews, Norman Dean, William Dean, Andrew Oliva, Ryan Oliva and nieces Emilia Oliva and Athena Oliva.David was preceded in death by his parents, John C. Purdy and Mary C. Purdy of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Family, friends and others are invited to celebrate the life of David Purdy, at a memorial service and reception afterwards, on Saturday, February 16, 2019, 1:30 PM, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 3096 S. Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO 80236 (standrewpresbyterian.com). Those wishing to visit more with his family and friends may gather afterwards at the Best Western Denver Southwest (3440 South Vance Street, Lakewood, CO 80227, bestwesterndenver.com) where we will continue to celebrate his life into the evening by enjoying some of his favorite games and music.

Please RSVP to Joanne at jopphd@yahoo.com.

Those wishing to do something in his memory are encouraged, in lieu of flowers, to donate to the music programs of St. Andrew Presbyterian and First Presbyterian Church of Leadville.(info below) Dave loved singing and sang in many choirs including those of the churches we attended, most of which had small congregations and choirs.

Write donation check out to:

First Presbyterian Church, Leadville

Put in memo: Music program

Mail to:

First Presbyterian Church, Leadville

PO Box 498

Leadville, CO 80461-0498

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Write donation check out to:

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church

Put in memo: Music program

Mail to:

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church

3096 S. Sheridan Blvd.

Denver, CO 80227

in memo: music program

Please share memories of David and condolences with his family by signing the online guestbook below.

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