Janice Purnell

Janice Marie (Tekamp) Purnell, 79, passed away peacefully on November 21, 2017 at the UW Medical Center in Seattle in the presence of her two grandsons.

Janice was born on February 28, 1938 in Dayton Ohio, the second child of Bernard & Eleanora (Kinstle) Tekamp. Janice was a devout Catholic from Dutch and German immigrant families and she and her sister Mariann attended Catholic schools in their youth.

In 1960, Janice married Merton Purnell while he was stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. They had two sons, Christopher and Charles, whom they raised in California but took annual road-trips to Ellensburg. Janice and Merton later divorced. She dedicated many years of her life to providing long term care to Christopher, who had cerebral palsy.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Father David Jimenez at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Ellensburg. Burial will follow at the Ellensburg IOOF Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Janice's honor are suggested to The Brain and Behavior Research foundation at https://www.bbrfoundation.org Steward & WillIams Tribute Center has been entrusted with caring for Janice's family.