Letter: ‘Purcell was a leader who made my job easier’

To the Editor:

I read today with shock and dismay of Kenneth Purcell’s sudden passing. The person that wrote his obituary certainly knew Kenneth well.

I knew him back when he was in high school and I was assistant principal and in charge of buses and bus drivers. I depended on all of those teenage drivers, but he was the leader and they followed his example. They made that part of my job easy. North Carolina made a mistake when teen drivers were eliminated. If he sensed a problem he came to me and we dealt with it.                 I got to know him quite well and knew of his bicycle shop as he shared news and stories of his business with me. In fact, I was so intrigued that one afternoon I drove out to his home to check it out. I was impressed.

I lost track of him after his graduation until he opened his funeral home in Raeford. When I learned of it I went to see him and we talked of the old days. At the time I made a note to myself that I wanted Kenneth to take care of my funeral. Obviously that didn’t work out.

Again I lost track of him, until one morning, some months ago, in a restaurant here in Laurinburg, there he was. I believe he was as pleased at our meeting as was I.

My sincere condolence to his family. Because of our current crisis I can’t express my feelings in person, but I hope this method of contact will be helpful.

Lauchlin MacDonald

Laurinburg