Lee Mcknight Purcell

Lee McKnight Purcell, 88, of Paragould, passed away on Saturday, May 17, 2014 in Paragould, AR. She was born October 17, 1925 in Mountain View, Arkansas, the daughter of the late Augustus “Gus” and Shellie Ginn McKnight. Lee graduated from Paragould High School where she was active in dramatics, receiving the Best Thespian Award. She was selected to attend the Summer Theater Stock program at the University of Denver the summer after her Sophomore Year of high school. After graduating from high school, she received the State Creative Writing Award for her short play titled, “The Social Climber.” Her play won her scholarships to the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and Hendrix. Lee chose to attend the University of Arkansas where she was an active member and Social Chairman of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. Lee was crowned Miss Paragould in 1946 and placed in the top five of the Miss Arkansas pageant where she performed the dramatic reading, “Sing Swallow Sing.” Lee was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Paragould for 78 years, joining when she was 10 years old. For most of those years you could find her and her family sitting in the same pew, third row from the back on the right. She loved this church very much. Lee absolutely loved playing bridge and joined a club in her early twenties. They were more than players; they were her close friends. She loved those ladies like sisters. She was also very close to her bridge foursome: Kat Block, Bette Brewer, and the late Marilyn Alexander. They were still playing in their eighties. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Dr. Donald I. Purcell of Paragould; her daughters and son-in-law: Lee Purcell of Los Angeles and her fiancé Bob Dahlquist, Paige and Phillip Wooldridge of Paragould; grandchildren: Dylan Purcell of Los Angeles, CA, Berkli and Richard Binns of Bentonville, Brock and Laura Wooldridge of Paragould, AR, Don Tyler of Bloomington, IN, and Joe Dusard, also of Bloomington, IN; great grandchildren: Clay and Caleb Binns, Luke and Lawson Wooldridge. The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Sunday, May 18 at Heath Funeral Home. Her life will be celebrated at 1:00 PM on Monday, May 19 at First United Methodist Church in Paragould. Burial is private. Honorary pallbearers are the members of the 21 Club. Memorials may be sent in Lee’s honor to First United Methodist Church of Paragould. You may leave comments on the online guestbook at www.heathfuneralhome.com.