Mary Jeanne Purdy

Mary Jeanne (Witschger) Purdy passed away peacefully on August 7th at Goodwin House in Falls Church, VA at the age of 89. She was preceded in death by her parents, Eugene and Elizabeth Witschger of Cincinnati, OH, and her brother Roger, also of Cincinnati. She was born in 1930 in Cincinnati where she attended Withrow High and the University of Cincinnati. After marrying John Purdy of Covington, KY, the young Navy couple were first stationed in Kodiak, AK and welcomed their first son Jeff there in 1957. Returning to suburban Cincinnati in 1959 the couple welcomed their son Rick in 1960 and soon after moved to Arlington, VA where they had their third son Mark in 1969. Mary was a full time Mom to the family until she returned to work in the early 1980s. She worked in Washington, D.C. at Gonzaga College High School, Trinity Washington University, and ultimately retired after working several years at the American Enterprise Institute as executive assistant to former UN Ambassador and Georgetown University Professor Jean Kirkpatrick.

Throughout her years in Arlington Mary was politically active, a member of ABC and the Arlington Democratic Party. Her retirement years were spent visiting and travelling with her family and friends. She was particularly fond of the Outer Banks in NC, and Glen Lake, MI. She settled into Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads in 2010, after moving out of her Arlington home, where she loved being around many old friends from Northern VA and enjoyed frequent visits from her family. The compassionate, caring staff at GHBC made her final years comforting and peaceful.

She is survived by Jeff (Jill) Purdy of Gaithersburg. MD, Rick (Sonya) Purdy of Alpharetta, GA., and Mark (Catherine) Purdy of Lake Orion, MI. She was “Grammy” to her 7 adoring grandchildren, Kathryn (Scott), Eric (Nora), Erin (Michael), Leah, Sam, Emily, and Hayley. Her first great grandchild, Maddie Grace, was born on August 11.

No services are planned at this time due to the pandemic. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund https://curealz.org/.