Gene Carroll Purvis

Savannah - Mr. Gene Carroll Purvis, age 90, passed away Monday, April 10, 2023, at

Candler Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, after a lengthy illness. He was born on April

22, 1932, in Brooklet, Georgia, and was one of seven children to the late Bertie Ennis

Purvis and Troy Lee Purvis.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950 and served as a paratrooper for 20 years before

retiring as a First Sergeant in 1971. His army career included two combat tours of

Vietnam where he fought at the battle of Dak To (Hill 875), and was awarded two

Bronze Star medals. He served in the 82nd and 173rd Airborne Brigades during his

Army career and was the Jumpmaster at the Airborne School in Ft. Benning, GA, Ft.

Bragg, North Carolina, and Wiesbaden, Germany. He was also an Army Master

Parachutist with over 500 parachute jumps. After his retirement from the U.S. Army, he

worked in the private sector in Savannah, Georgia, before beginning a second 20-year

career as a welder and sheetmetal fabricator with the Department of Defense (DOD) at

Hunter Army Airfield. He retired from the DOD in 1995.

He was an avid fisherman and fan of Nascar, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Atlanta

Braves. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Jimmy

Purvis, Donnie Purvis, Troy Purvis, Jr. and Ardie Purvis, and one sister, Linda Woods.

Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Nancy Perrow Purvis of Savannah; one son and

daughter-in-law, Rick and Jan Purvis of St. Simons Island; one daughter and son-in-law,

Jeani C. and Edgar Hayman of Bloomingdale; one brother and sister-in-law, Kenneth

Aubrey and Barbara Purvis of Savannah; one grandson, Troy Marshall Purvis of Santa

Clara, CA, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A graveside service will be held 2 P.M. Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Lower Black Creek

Cemetery.

The family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in lieu of

flowers.