Lisa Kathleen Purvis
Lisa Kathleen Purvis was born in San Francisco on December 15, 1974 and recently passed away on February 15, 2017. She was a former long term resident of San Rafael, California and recently a resident of Austin, Texas.
Lisa attended Bretby House School (London, England), Coleman, Davidson and San Rafael High and graduated in 1998 from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Environmental Studies. For Lisa life in her twenties was a life of interruptions dealing with serious health issues. At age 28 Lisa was properly diagnosed with a Germinoma Brain Tumor. The excellent support she received from the Center of Attitudinal Healing and their positive loving philosophy had a major influence on her life. Lisa met adversity with resilience, no fuss, fanfare or self pity, while all the time continuing to pursue her goals and passions in life.
Lisa was a lifelong learner, loved taking courses and acquiring new skills. This served her well in her complicated career journey. Her many jobs in various fields included: environmental lab work, banking, phlebotomy, SAT scorer. Finally she found her niche in the tax field something she both loved and excelled at.
Lisa was an avid reader, and loved movies, music, and karaoke. Curious and analytical, she enjoyed word play, scrabble, puzzles, sudoku and board games. A natural athlete, she engaged in a variety of sports, but her passion was anything to do with the water - swimming no matter how cold or rough, or paddle boarding on choppy waves. She even took an underwater hockey class, loved snorkeling, and liked nothing better than kayaking in rivers and on the Bay. She was in her element in the water and her favorite vacations were water related (Hawaii, Oregon, Cabo and Belize being her favorite of all time).
Lisa was a gentle and sensitive soul, kind and compassionate. She leaves behind many good friends and relatives who will miss her intelligence, humor, character and loving presence.
Survived by her parents Elizabeth Purvis and James Purvis, her brother Michael Purvis and his wife Felicitas Purvis and her three sons Jose, Luis, and Miguel, her stepmother Donna Purvis, her aunt Mary Ann Purvis and many cousins. She was predeceased by her grandparents, George and Evelyn Purvis and Catherine and James FitzGerald, and her uncle Robert FitzGerald.
A Memorial Mass to celebrate Lisa’s life will be held at St. Isabella Church, One Trinity Way, San Rafael at noon, Saturday, April 8th. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 West Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 550, Chicago, Illinois, 60631 for research.