William B. Purtell, Jr., 77, of Bristol, RI, died Wednesday, January 25, 2017 after a long illness. He was the husband of the late Jane (Hinton) Allen Purtell.
Born in Trenton, NJ, son of the late William and Marion (Hammond) Purtell, he lived in Fairhaven for most of his life.
He served his country in both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and later worked for the Department of Defense for 25 years until his retirement. In retirement, he assisted his wife in real estate services for many years.
William was a graduate of Fairhaven High School, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he received both his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Army Management Staff College, National Defense University, and San Francisco Technical University, where he received his Doctorate in Business Administration.
He is survived by three sons, Scott Purtell of Mansfield, Timothy Purtell and his wife Kristen of Melbourne, FL, and James Purtell and his wife Colleen of Somerset; his former wife, Patricia (Burton) Purtell; a brother, Sergio Purtell and his wife Melanie of Brooklyn, NY; nine grandchildren, Jillian, Kaylee, Brayden, Emma, Max, Evan, Summer, Nathan, and Mackenzie; two stepchildren, Jason Allen of Klawock, AK, and Jonay Zeis and her husband David of Cary, NC; and a step-granddaughter, Stella.
He was predeceased by his son, William J. Purtell.
His Funeral Service will be held on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 11 AM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd., Rt. 6, Mattapoisett. A private family burial will follow in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting hours will be Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 5-7 PM. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
