Constance C. Purdum, a former longtime Macomb resident and civic leader, died of respiratory failure April 6 at her residence at Sunrise of Beverly Hills, CA. She was 85 and had suffered from metastatic lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Connie, as she was universally known, was born in Bushnell to Albert Smith and Enid Edie Clarke on July 11, 1933. She was educated at the Western Illinois University Training School and was a 1955 graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and was also a graduate of the Moser Secretarial School of Chicago.
After finishing her education, she worked as secretary to the dean of men at W.I.U., before marrying Jerry S. Purdum of Macomb on Nov. 2, 1957. The couple eloped to Crown Point, Indiana and spent a brief honeymoon in Chicago before returning to set up housekeeping at the West Carroll Street apartments, later moving to South Madison Street and eventually to 8 Bacon’s Wood Circle.
Over the years, Connie was active in local politics and various charitable organizations. She was co-chair of the McDonough County Republican Central Committee in the presidential election of 1968, and also served as chair of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. She was also a longtime driver for Meals on Wheels, and later served as a board member of the McDonough District Hospital and a trustee of Lawrence University.
She belonged to the First Presbyterian Church, the Macomb Country Club and was a proud member of the noon meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. A vital, vivacious presence in the community, she loved dancing the Charleston, playing host at Saturday night dinner parties, and appearing in productions of “South Pacific” and “Annie Get Your Gun” at W.I.U.’s Summer Music Theatre in the 1970s. In later years, she lived part-time in Chicago, where she served on the board of Lifeline Theatre and enjoyed trips with fellow patrons of the Goodman Theatre Company to see plays in London. Similarly, she relished annual journeys organized by President Al Golfarb of W.I.U. to see theater in New York City. In 2011, she moved to Bethesda, Md., to be closer to relatives and then, in 2014, to Beverly Hills.
She was predeceased by her parents and husband, a longtime local businessman, and by one son, Christopher Clarke Purdum. She is survived by her three children, sons Todd, of Los Angeles and Stephen of Grand Rapids, MN, and daughter, Edie Glavey of Chicago, together with six grandchildren, Margaret and John Glavey of Chicago; Shelby and Harrison Purdum of Grand Rapids; and Katharine and Stephen Purdum of Los Angeles.
A memorial service and a celebration of Connie’s life is planned for late May in Macomb. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in her memory to the Salvation Army.
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