Albert "Bert" Purdue slipped into Heaven peacefully Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, at home, in Las Vegas. His immediate family was nearby and they were with him continually during the final months of his battle with multiple myeloma. Bert's family were pioneers in Nevada and helped settle Goodsprings and Las Vegas in the early 1900's, then relocated to Los Angeles in the 1920's. Bert was born in 1934, in Los Angeles, to Howell Purdue of Arkansas and Jean Nevada Fayle Purdue of Goodsprings. He spent his early years in Los Angeles, where his father practiced law and then returned to Las Vegas with his mother when he was three years old. His early Las Vegas childhood years in the 1940's were spent riding bikes and playing with what became lifelong friends. Returning to California, Bert graduated from Harvard School in North Hollywood, then went on to graduate from the University of Southern California in 1960 following a two-year stint with the U.S. Army. Both in high school and college, Bert was a serious track star. He held several state track records for decades and received the CIF Champion award for the 880 (half-mile) in 1952. He remained an active runner all of his life. Bert returned to Las Vegas in 1960 with his wife, Margy, and raised their three active children in this community. He began his career as a stock broker with Eastman Dillon and ended as a portfolio manager with Wells Fargo Bank managing Taft Hartley accounts prior to his retirement in 2000. Bert was always active in his community. He was president of the Las Vegas Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow, he served on the boards of the YMCA, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army and was an active member of Christ Church Episcopal. His favorite pastime was coaching youth teams, he spent years coaching Pop Warner football, OLLV basketball and even coached girls' track. He was always touched to hear one of his former players refer to him as Coach Purdue. Bert was a thoughtful and analytical man. He loved to read, especially history books, peruse maps and always enjoyed Padres baseball and USC football games. He married Cheryl Hoffman Rogers in 1987 and they had over 28 years of devotion to one another. They loved car trips anywhere in the U.S. and traveled to Europe, Asia, and Russia. He especially enjoyed the many years they had at their home in Cedar City, Utah, and he shared many loving moments with all his dogs. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl; three children, Don and Laurie (nee Abdo) Purdue, Doug and Gina Purdue and Jean and Eugene Youngerman; three stepchildren, Suzanne Rogers (Brian), Kimberly Rogers (Eugene) and Perry Rogers (Nicole); 16 grandchildren and stepgrandchildren; and several very dear cousins in Connecticut and New York. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Christ Church Episcopal, 2000 S. Maryland Parkway. Private burial following at the family plot in Goodsprings. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Bert may be sent to Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89146, Vegas PBS, 3050 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121, or Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741.
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