Barbara (Hill) Purtell, 82, of Punta Gorda, Florida passed away at home on March 18, 2019 surrounded by her loved ones. Barbara was born in Syracuse, NY to Robert and Lillian Hill. She graduated from East Syracuse High School in 1953 and went on to work at St. Joseph’s Hospital, NY Telephone, Travelers and CNA Insurance Companies. In 1955 Barbara married Curtis Purtell and raised three daughters in East Syracuse.
An avid golfer, Barbara was proud of her six holes-in-one achieved on six different holes on five different courses. She was a past member of Beaver Meadows where she won Women’s Club Championship four times, past president of the Syracuse Women's District Golf Association, and founder of the Babe Zaharias Memorial Golf Tournament having raised over a million dollars for American Cancer Society. After moving to Florida in 1995, Barbara was a member of Rotonda Golf Club where she loved playing with the “Beautiful Babes.” She also founded the Charli’s Angels Golf Tournament raising money for CHAPS (Charlotte HIV/AIDS People Support). Barbara served on the board of directors at Lakewood Village, and during the summer months, she and her partner worked at J.H. Butterfields in Bar Harbor, Maine where Barbara would make her ever popular chocolate chip cookies and “lobstah” rolls.
Barbara will be lovingly remembered by her partner of 40 years, Dottie Abbott, daughters Debra LaVine, Brenda (John) Mengel, and Cynthia (Derek) Schmitt, granddaughters Carie and Lauren Mengel, grandsons Kevin, Derek, and Bradley LaVine, Jason and Michael Clark, seven great-grandchildren, siblings Roberta Packard, Charlotte Ashe, Donald (Vince) Hill, Robert (Melissa) Hill, sister-in-law Dorothy Hill, and several nieces and nephews. Brother Gerald Hill predeceased her.
A Celebration of Barbara’s life will be held on Tuesday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m. with a service to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Kays-Ponger Funeral Home, 635 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda, FL 33950, with the Reverend Vince Scotto officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barbara’s memory may be made to American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org.
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