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Dr. James Purvis
November 24, 1922 - April 13, 2014
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<div itemprop="description"><br />PURVIS, James Raphael, M.D. <br /> <br />Jim died peacefully at home on April 13, 2014 in his 92nd year. His ancestors were Scottish immigrants who settled in Yonge Mills, Leeds County, Ontario in 1785. He was born on November 24, 1922. He was one of five children born to Peter James Purvis III and Harriet Maud Raphael and grew up on the original family farm in Yonge Mills. <br /> <br />He is survived by Lorraine (Lower), his beloved wife of 62 years, and by his much loved children, Cathy, Andrea (Terence Laverty, deceased), Jennifer, Peter (Birgit Niggebaum), Gillian (Todd Morris), and grandchildren, David and Anne Laverty, James and Matthias Purvis, Sean and Colin Morris, and by two sisters, Elizabeth Tennant (James) and Katherine Purvis (Arthur, deceased). Predeceased by his sisters Margaret Brown (Lindsay, deceased) and Harriet Purvis. <br /> <br />He served in the RCAF in World War II as a trainer and instructor for pilots in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After the war, he attended Queen's University and graduated from Medical School in 1952. During the summer of 1948, he worked as a Guard (#151) at Fort Henry, where he met and fell in love with Lorraine,who was also working at the Fort. <br /> <br />After five years' post-graduate work in London, England and Detroit, Michigan, he and his young family returned to Kingston where he practised as an ENT specialist for 37 years. Jim was one of the Canadian pioneers in the use of the operative microscope for middle-ear surgery. He was a founding member of the Frontenac Heritage Foundation and a benefactor for 40 years of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival. He was a long-time member of Chalmers United Church, where he served as an elder for many years. <br /> <br />Jim enjoyed painting, poetry, gardening and summers at the family cottage on Buck Lake. He and Lorraine had a wide circle of friends and he delighted in entertaining them both at home and at the cottage. He made friends easily and enjoyed being part of a close community of neighbours. He will be missed for his generous, welcoming nature, intelligent conversation, and wonderful sense of humour. <br /> <br />The family wishes to express their gratitude to the palliative care medical team and the nurses and staff of Saint Elizabeth for their expert care and compassion, and to friends and neighbours for their constant support during Jim's recent illness. <br /> <br />The family will receive friends at the Robert J. Reid &amp; Sons Funeral Home, &ldquo;The Chapel on the Corner&rdquo;, 309 Johnson Street (at Barrie Street) on Monday April 21st from 3- 6 p.m. Memorial Service will held on Tuesday, April 22nd at 11:00 am at Chalmers United Church, 212 Barrie Street. Reception to follow. <br /> <br />As an expression of sympathy, please consider making a donation to the Cancer Research Society or Doctors without Borders.</div>