William R Purdon
| Date of Interment or Death | 01/18/1913 |
|---|---|
| Location | Old Fairview |
| Section | A |
| Block-Lot-Grave | 1-3-2 |
Obituary
William R. Purdon-1913
MAJOR PURDON ANSWERS CALL SURRENDERS AFTER MAKING A DETERMINED FIGHT FOR LIFE FOR OVER THREE YEARS WHOLE CITY MOURNS Honored Citizen, Faithful Friend, Beloved Husband and Father and Gallant Soldier Laid to Rest With Fitting Ceremony
Major W. R. Purdon of this city died at his home a little before one o’clock last Thursday morning. The end came peacefully and quietly. Death had been expected for several days.
For three years past Major Purdon had carried on an unequal struggle for life. He was taken sick three years ago in February and for several months of his life was despaired of but in the fall of 1910 he went to Arizona where he remained until spring. While there he underwent an operation and appeared to be regaining his health at the time of his return to Wahpeton in the spring of 1911. Since then he has been constantly under treatment and was operated upon by Dr. Mayo at Rochester last summer with apparently beneficial results. His general health had been weakened however by his work in the Philippines and his chances for recovery were lessened on that account. Neither he nor his family ever gave up hope of his complete recovery however and he seemed to be slowly gaining health and strength. About January first he caught a severe cold and from then on his decline was rapid. Hope of his recovery was given up several days before his death.
William R. Purdon was born August 19, 1864 in the township of Dalhousie, County of Lanark, Ontario, his parents moved to Alexandria, Minn. about the first day of May 1868 and he was reared and educated there. After living in Alexandria twelve years the family moved to Wahpeton in June 1880 and he was connected from that time until his death with the general merchandise store established by his father, James Purdon. He was absent from his post of duty in the store only at times of sickness and during his service in the Philippines and while a member of the North Dakota Legislature.
He was married June 19,1890 to Miss Belle Hanson of Willoughby, Ohio who thru his long illness has been his most constant companion and faithful nurse. He leaves two children, Miss Ethel, who is teaching school in Doran and Arthur, who holds a position in the Peoples State Bank.
At the time of the organization of Company I of the North Dakota National Guard, Major Purdon enrolled and was elected a lieutenant of the company. When the Spanish American was broke out he was among the first to signify his willingness to go and was commissioned a Captain of the company. He served thruout the war and saw much actual service and hardship during the year which the company spent in the Philippines. No officer of the regiment was more admired by his fellow officers or more beloved by his men than was Capt. Purdon. On his return to Wahpeton he retained his commission in the National Guard and was later promoted to Major. Only a few days before his death he was ordered for examination for appointment as Lieutenant Colonel. He was in line for appointment as Adjutant General and would doubtless have received that appointment within a few years had he lived. In the fall of 1904 Major Purdon was elected a member of the North Dakota Legislature from the 12th Legislative district and he served thru the session of 1905 and 1907 with much credit to himself and to his district. At Bismarck as elsewhere he won the respect and administration of all those with whom he came in contact. He was very active in advancing the interest of the National Guard while in the legislature and many of the laws of benefit to the National Guard now on the statute books were placed there thru his efforts. He took an active part in all military affairs of the state and lent his aid to the raising of funds for the erection of the local armory.
Major Purdon has been active in local politics of late years. He was a candidate for Mayor in the spring of 1906 and lost the election by only four votes. He was appointed City Auditor by Major Eberly two years later and served one term. At the election last spring he was elected Police Magistrate of the city and held that position at the time of his death. He served as a member of the Board of Education from 1902 to 1910.
Major Purdon was a man of absolute honesty and spotless character. His integrity and sincerity was never questioned. His home life was that of an ideal man and he had no enemies. Since early manhood he had been a faithful church worker and he had been a member of the Masonic Lodge for about fifteen years. Wahpeton mourns the loss of Major Purdon. He will be greatly missed not only in his home and church but by the hundreds of friends with whom he came in daily contact.
The funeral of Major Purdon was perhaps the most largely attended of any in the history of Wahpeton. At ten o’clock Saturday morning the casket containing the remains of the gallant soldier was taken to the Armory where the body lay in state until the services. A guard of members of Company I stood over the remains until the casket was carried from the building after the service.
By order of Governor Hanna the First Battalion of the North Dakota National Guard attended the services. Pallbearers: W. B. Aspinwall, Jack Anfinson, Herbert Brandt, John Leathart, O. O. Swank, Byron Woodbury, and J. P. Olson, all members of Company I in the Spanish-American War. Honorary pallbearers, Major General W. C. Treuman, Colonel F. P. Allen, Major G. C. Grafton, Regimental Q. M. Captain Agnus Frazer, Capt and Adjutant R. A. Thomson, Lieutenant J. T. Murphy. A special train brought the battalion to this city from Fargo.
Hundreds of people viewed the remains Saturday morning and early in the afternoon and at least a thousand were present at the services. Hundreds more were unable to gain entrance into the hall.
Rev. Sewrey conducted the services. The Science School band played as the friends entered the hall and a choir of mixed voices rendered beautiful hymns, the favorites of the Major. The hall had been previously decorated in the national colors and a mass of flowers, the gifts of friends were banked about the casket. The Battalion served as escort to Fairview cemetery and assisted in burial with military honors.
The members of the family attending the funeral from out of the city were Major Purdon’s sisters, Mrs. Bennett of Sioux City, Iowa; Mrs. W. G. Crocker of Lisbon; Mrs. F. B. Lynch of St. Paul; Clara Purdon of Lisbon; and Florence who is attending the University at Grand Forks; Dr. Cleve Purdon and W. G. Crocker of Lisbon and Andrew Purdon of Alexandria. Mrs. Purdon and family desire to express to their friends their heartfelt thanks for the many acts of kindness bestowed upon them and their beloved during his illness and since his death.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
Old Fairview is located on the southern half of the cemetery grounds.