William Osborne Purcell
February 7, 1930 November 14, 2018. Born in Brooklyn, he moved from Baltimore Virginia then Maitland 1958.
A Catholic, Bill was a member and long-time usher at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and his master’s to in from University of Florida.
He was with Lockheed-Martin over 30 years, receiving “Inventor of the Year” award on two separate occasions. He held numerous patents on defensive weapon systems, notably, the Bull-Pup missile.
He served on a NATO Industry Advisory Committee. Enjoying the travel and conferences in distant countries, he consulted in training United States Allies overseas in sophisticated weapons development – sometimes writing the “book” to go with the lessons. He founded the Central Florida chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association. He was an active member of the Central Florida Fossil Club, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Fun of the Quarter and the International Cooking Group. He was an Elk, a member of the University Club of Winter Park and the English Speaking Union.
He coached Little League and was “Fat Fox” in Indian Guides and Indian Princesses. He insisted on a special family vacation every year plus a boat, a pool and a tree house. He was truly a Dream Dad. His love of travel and his children motivated him to take every child on a special overseas trip. He also gifted his daughters with their own tour of Europe. After retirement, he and his son went on an adventure trip or two every year until his illness.
He became a self-taught genealogist and enjoyed tracing the families back to antiquity. He was a backyard gardener specializing in orchids. He was a collector, notably fossils, shells, stamps and books. He was a walker, golfer, reader, artist and enjoyed a rich social life with his wife, Ann.
He is preceded in death by his father, William O. Purcell, Sr., of Purcellville, VA, his mother, Sara Hughes Purcell, Dover, N.H., sisters Mary Purcell Griffin (William) and Barbara Purcell James (Jack).
He is survived by his loving wife, Ann Fralin Purcell; son, Patrick Purcell; daughters, Page Morris (Tim), Sara Purcell (John Backer) and Samantha Purcell (Christina Garrett); granddaughter, Hannah Wooten, nieces and nephews, Jeff James, Jennifer James Blanton, Christopher James, Robert Griffin, Sue Griffin Clem Karen Griffin.
A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, December 1st, at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs followed by a reception in the Mother Teresa Room.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Christian Sharing Center, 600 North Highway 17-92, Suite 158, Longwood, FL 32750-3638. 407-2609155 https://secure.qgiv.com/for/tcsci/ and