Miss Clara Zelpha Purkapile's Obituary
Miss Clara Zelpha Purkapile-daughter of Mary Frances (Marshall) and William Rainier Purkapile I (1837-1904 & 1837-1911 repectively) and sister of James Nois Purkapile (1868-1956) and twins Charles Oscar Purkapile (1879-1944) and Harris Oliver Purkapile (1879-1960) and other siblings, and niece of John Purkapile (1844-1928) Eaton Purkapile (1847-1865) and "Nellie" (Purkapile) Miles (1860-1948) and others-was born in Pettis County, Missouri, December 26, 1876.
Clara never married or had children. She was a stenographer and a saleswoman.
She suffered from generalized arteriosclerosis for approximately the last 5 yrs of her life. She died of arteriosclerotic heart disease, Oct 8, 1961, at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem OR. She had been at the hospital since early to mid-February 1957, prior to which she had lived at 918 S.W. Washington, Portland, OR.
She was cremated through the hospital, October 10, 1961.
In August, 2017, Christie and husband Jim Shellito, of the rural Southwest of Sandy, Oregon, the latter being a great-grandnephew of the deceased through her brother James N. Purkapile, recently claimed Clara's long lost ashes from the Oregon State Hospital, and with the help of relative J (Kevin) Purkaple, a 1st cousin of Clara's (4 times removed) through Clara's 1st cousin Lee, son of the aforementioned uncle John Purkapile, began the job of transferring her to Neodesha, Ks. She will be in the cemetery there with her family, where her headstone and empty plot have been located ever since her death in 1961.
Countryside Funeral Home of Fredonia, Kansas is taking care of the ashes and their placement with Clara's relatives in the Neodesha Cemetery.
Clara is survived by Christie & Jim Shellito, Jim's sister Teresa (Shellito) Cope (Clara's great-grandniece) of Portland Oregon, and J Purkaple ofthe city of Gladstone, a small city almost entirely landlocked by Kansas City, MO.
Clara is also specifically survived by:
Mitzi Purkaple (Clara's great-grandniece through the aforementioned Harris "Harry" O. Purkapile) and Larry Bryan, of Iowa, and Jackie (Clara's 1st cousin, twice removed, through her paternal grandfather Lee, son of the aforementioned uncle John Purkapile) and husband Jim Kordones, of California. Also, her most notable close relative, Vaughn Walker, whose maternal grandmother was the aforementioned "Nellie" Miles, half-sister of Clara's father. Vaughn Richard Walker, former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and his partner are also in California.
Clara was very recently followed in death by Denver, Colorado native Ruth (Haines) Purkaple (1911-2017) who was the widow of the aforementioned brother Charles O. Purkapile's son William R.II (1904-1964) of New York City. Clara's niece-in-law Ruth was 106 when she died in her home state of Colorado. She was a nationally recognized figure in the field of international educational relations, who counted Eleanor Roosevelt herself among her personal friends. She lived a full life and was alert all 106 Years.
Clara Z. Purkapile is to this day survived by an insurmountable number of relatives, who will continue to pass on her family's legacy.
What’s your fondest memory of Clara?
What’s a lesson you learned from Clara?
Share a story where Clara's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Clara you’ll never forget.
How did Clara make you smile?