Frederick Ervin Purches

Mr. Frederick E. Purches of New York, NY, died on March, 23 2021, at Weill Cornell Hospital at the age of 83. He was born on March 22, 1938 to parents Frederick Joseph Purches and Joanne Decker Purches in Dalton, Mass.

Fred graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) in 1959 with a Bachelors in Business Administration. While at Amhurst he was very active in campus affairs, especially in theater. Post graduation, Fred joined the US Army spending most of his tour of duty with the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment on the East/West German border from 1959-1961.

In 1963, Fred began a long and successful career in the cosmetics/fragrance industry. He took on successively broader roles with Cheseborough-Ponds, Revlon and Helena Rubenstein, where he ultimately became President. In 1984 he founded Parlux Fragrances, which marketed popular fragrance brands including Armani, Anne Klein, Paris Hilton, Queen Latifa and Rihanna. He took the company public in 1986 and served as Chairman until his retirement in 2013.

Fred is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Kristina, his children and their spouses; Joanne and John DeSimone, Fred and Kathleen Purches and Jeff and Jodi Purches, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.