Joy Allen Purrington

How can you condense the magnificence of a life of love and service into mere paragraphs of an obituary?  Such is the task following the passing of our beloved Joy Allen Purrington on May 19, 2016.  Born June 26, 1936, to stalwart parents, Golden L. and Helen Hofler Allen in Centerville, Utah, Joy lived each precious moment to the fullest.  Education was a paramount asset and teaching children was her gift.  Breaking the hearts of many suitors, Joy chose her eternal companion, Gordon  Sellers Purrington, with whom she followed to New Jersey, Washington, Florida, and New York supporting his career in higher education and fulfilling her highest calling of motherhood.  She stayed in contact with lifelong friends she made everywhere she went thanks to long phone calls.  No-one was just a 'friend,' everyone was a 'very dear friend,' to Joy.

Her laughter was as big as her heart; her gregariousness verged on outlandish.  She spoke and lived in superlatives.  But Joy knew what really mattered, her Savior, family and people.  In spite of the heartaches and challenges most of us would have buckled under, Joy stood true.  She never forgot who she was.  Her moral compass was deeply engrained and nothing thrilled her more than her move back to Utah to live across from the Bountiful Temple.  Her personal accomplishments and worldly success were immaterial to her eternal values.  She regaled in wearing skirts from high school and remembering every detail (made up or otherwise) of significant events in her life.  

Her legacy, though uncontainable, is her absolute devotion to Jenny and Scotty.  Angels with Downs, they were the focus of Joy's energy.  Their needs superseded any other.  Joy gave them the security of knowing they were a child of God and her presence at Special Needs Mutual and Primary will be sorely missed.

Her beautiful children, Scott, Courtney (Michelle), David and Jenny mourn her passing as do her siblings, Gay Allen Farnworth, Bruce L. (Maud) Allen, Ann Allen Fadel, and Judy (Scott) Nixon.  Three loving brothers-in- law, six grandchildren and many devoted nieces and nephews, whom she loved as her own, will forever be impacted by her life.  Her knight in shining armor, Gordon, preceded her in death.

She closed every conversation or visit with LOVE YOU, never good-bye.  Joy indeed was 'unique in all the world.'

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2016 at the Moss Hill Ward Chapel, 455 S. 1200 E., Bountiful, Utah. Friends are invited to visit on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 N. Main, Bountiful, Utah, and on Thursday from 9:45-10:45 a.m. at the church prior to the service.  Interment at the Centerville City Cemetery.