George William Purcell

George William "Bus" Purcell Jr.

George passed away peacefully on December 29th in Northridge, CA at the age of 96. He was born into the newspaper business in Vincennes, IN on October 8th, 1916. His father and grandfather owned the Vincennes Sun (now the Vincennes Sun Commercial) and George, or "Buster" as he was nicknamed, was delivering papers downtown at the age of eight.

In 1926 the paper was sold and the family, now including two younger brothers, moved to Bloomington, IN. George's father purchased the Bloomington Evening World and George would eventually become the full time manager of the paper even while earning his degree in journalism from Indiana University. George still found time to meet his future wife, Florence, and letter in varsity tennis.

Florence and George were married on May 11th, 1941 in Vincennes. They built a small house in Bloomington and were looking forward to a long life in Bloomington until World War II changed everything.

As a young man, George made several memorable trips to Southern California, one hitchhiking both ways at the age of seventeen. After service as a Naval Officer in World War II and the Evening World being sold, George made the relatively easy decision to move Florence and their new son to Los Angeles in 1946.

Answering a small ad in the local paper, he found a job with Van de Kamp's Bakeries as their advertising manager. He stayed with Van de Kamp's until his retirement in 1978. He loved his work and was responsible for many packaging innovations, overseeing the rapid expansion of in-store (super market) bakery retail outlets, restaurants, and an award winning float in the 1947 Rose Parade.

He was in a leadership position with the Advertising Club of Los Angeles and was the President of the Big Ten Club of Los Angeles in 1952. With the Big Ten Club, he played a pivotal role in keeping the Big Ten schools participating in the Rose Bowl when they were considering other options.

At home, George and Florence had two more sons and in 1951 moved from their first California house in Sherman Oaks to a larger home in Van Nuys. George was very active in the local little league, a skilled wood worker, landscape architect, model train enthusiast, and genealogist.

Florence had several major health issues in her later life ending in a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. George was with her for most every meal for a period of years until her passing in 2002. George was also predeceased by his youngest son Kent, and his middle brother Royal Ellis.

George is survived by his youngest brother Robert of Ft. Meyers, FL, his son Terry of Mercer Island, WA, and his son Scott of Sherman Oaks, CA. He was the proud grandfather of Brian, Travis, Dana, and Erin and the great grandfather of Jonas, Beckett, Vaughn, Tucker, and Paige.

George will be spiritually reunited with his wife Florence in Vincennes in the spring. We will all miss his very dry sense of humor and his mastery of the English language.