Janet Lynn Purlee

Janet Lynn Purlee made her final journey home after a decades long battle with multiple rare diseases. She  passed peacefully in her home surrounded by family and her beloved Boston Terrier Grendel. She fought with inspirational courage through the last two decades and turned a short life expectancy into several more years to keep living life to the fullest. 

She will be remembered for her work as an occupational therapist, a scout leader, and as a talented quilt artist. Janet earned her occupational therapy degree from eastern Kentucky University and went to serve generations of children while working at the Silvercrest Developmental Center, Jefferson County Public Schools and Greater Clark Schools. She had an intuitive sense of what children needed to be successful and would go to great lengths to provide those supports. She helped to train a generation of other therapists.

Jan’s dedication to working with children did not stop at the end of the school day. She also worked with hundreds of youth through Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups centralized at her long-time church home, the Wall Street United Methodist Church. She organized crafts, games, and activities to help Scouts gain skills and confidence (as well as earn badges). She was nationally recognized for her work to ensure that scouts with disabilities were able to enjoy scouting programs. 

Jan was a passionate quilter. She began quilting with a church group at age 12 and never stopped. Jan’s work has been displayed at quilt shows locally and nationally. She has gifted numerous quilts to family and friends each made with love and a specific purpose in mind. Jan was a former president of Louisville Nimble Thimbles and participated in many quilt groups throughout her life including the Southern Indiana Quilt Guild and the Sew ‘N Tell Quilt Guild. Jan felt a deep connection to God through quilting. The Sacred Threads program was dear to her and helped her process her grief of losing her parents and brother as well as her pain from chronic illnesses. 

Jan’s greatest joy in life was being a mother and grandmother. She attended every event she was able to and loved having “adventures” with the family. Trips to the zoo and local parks were among her favorite activities. Most of all, she will be remembered for her love and devotion to her family. She gathered family and friends together at every opportunity- holidays, birthdays, and random days in between. Jackson and Lincoln will fondly remember trips to the park, the zoo, Easter egg hunts and Christmas gift exchanges. 

She and her husband Gary hosted fifteen exchange students from ten different countries. There has been an overwhelming outpouring of love from throughout the world about the positive impact that she has had as a host exchange mother.

She was married to Gary Purlee for thirty-nine years. She is survived by daughter Sara Purlee Volk (Brian) and son Matthew Purlee (Lluvia). Her life was blessed by grandsons Jackson and Lincoln Volk. Other family members include sister Lorese Harper and brother-in-law Lee Harper and nephews Evan and Eli Harper. She was preceded by her father Merrill Comer,  Mother Carol Comer (Murphy) and brother Mike Comer.

Friends are invited to attend a celebration of her life at the Wall Street United Methodist Church at the corner of Wall and Chestnut Streets in downtown Jeffersonville on Saturday, April 25 at 2:30 pm.

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