Russell Adam Purrington

He was born April 30, 1926 in Beemer, Nebraska to Iona and Tracy James Purrington. He attended South Dakota State College in Brookings, South Dakota where he earned his high school diploma while focusing on agricultural studies. He served in the Navy during the Korean Conflict as a fireman aboard the USS Helena from 1951 to 1953. On June 1, 1947, he married his longtime sweetheart, Marcia Rogers in St. Lawrence, South Dakota.

In 1957, after several years running a farm in South Dakota, Russ and Marcia moved to Denver, Colorado where he found work at the Benjamin Moore Paint Company as a paint mixer and maintenance man. In 1959, they adopted their son, Tracy Lee Purrington and in 1962, adopted their daughter, Lisa Rae Bashford (nee Purrington). They purchased their first home in Arvada, Colorado where they lived until his death.

He is survived by his wife, Marcia; his son Tracy of San Francisco; his daughter and her husband, Lisa and Joe Bashford, three grandchildren, Vincent Bashford, Amy Bashford and Kristen Bashford, all of Gilbert, Arizona; two sisters, Lurabel Evans and Ellen Parmely both of Miller, South Dakota. He is preceded in death by his parents, Iona and Tracy and his brother James.

Funeral services will be held at Noon, Monday, June 11 at the Arvada Presbyterian Church, 5592 Independence St., Arvada, Colorado. Interment will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery. Afterwards, a gathering of family and friends will be held at the Purrington home at 5666 Johnson St. in Arvada, Colorado.

Donations may be made to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization at www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org