William R. “Bill” Purk, 79, of Bellefontaine, passed away at 5:57 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at The Ohio State University East Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. He was born on June 24, 1942, in DeGraff, Ohio, a son of the late Wilbur Ray and Pauline LaVerne (Thomas) Purk.
Bill married Joyce Purk in December 1963 in Indiana and she preceded him in death on March 18, 2015. On September 30, 2006, he married Debbie Purk in Bellefontaine, and she survives. He is also survived by his two children, April (Scott) Lantz and Darla (Mason Randle) Keifer; four stepsons, Alan (Roxanne) Hillard, Nathan (Nellie) Hillard, Neal (Pricilla) Hillard, and Jacob (Cara) Hillard; 11 grandchildren, Hillary (Eddie) Cowburn, Ethan Keifer, Lexi Keifer, McKay Young, Trevor Hillard, Austin Hillard, Levi Hillard, Lindsey Hillard, Sydney Hillard, Haley Elliott, Mia Elliott, Henry Hillard, Jack Hillard, and Leo Hillard; a sister, Betty L. Reames; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents and first wife, Bill was preceded in death by a sister, Barbara A. Purk, and a brother, Richard Wayne Purk.
Bill was a self-employed contractor and member of Stony Creek Church. He was also a member of the Champaign Cruisers Car Club and Gideon’s International. Bill felt blessed to have been able to make two mission trips to Haiti in the 1980’s to help build a school.
A visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 321 N. Main Street in Bellefontaine, where Pastors Wayne Downing and Phillip Liess will officiate a funeral service at 1 p.m. A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, at Greenwood-Union Cemetery in DeGraff, Ohio.
Memorial contributions may be made to Gideons International, P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.
Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Bellefontaine, is honored to serve the Purk family and encourages anyone to share a fond memory or message of condolence at www.edsfh.com.