Newton Emanuel Purkiss

Newton E. Purkiss, age 98 Florida resident Newton Emanuel Purkiss died December 23, 2012, at his home in West Palm Beach, surrounded by his family. Newton was born December 11, 1914, in Cascade, Hanover, Jamaica, W. I. He was one of eight children born to Frederick and Frances Purkiss. He was predeceased by siblings Cleveland, Harton, Ethan, Ivan, Marion and Lilian, and survived by younger sister Nellie. Newton spent his youth in Cascade completing Brownsville Elementary School. As a young man, he worked for the parochial board as a laborer and later drove a truck providing transportation services throughout the Hanover area. It was during this time that he met his future wife Carmen Russell, of Hopewell; in 1951 they were wed in Montego Bay. After they married, Newton and Carmen settled in Cold Spring, Hanover, where they operated a grocery shop before moving to Kingston with their young family in 1956. In Kingston, he became a bus driver for Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS). He remained there for three years before immigrating to the United States in 1962 with his family, settling in northern New Jersey. He and Carmen raised their three children in Montclair, NJ, before purchasing a home in Bloomfield, NJ in 1977. He worked for Hoffmann-La Roche Pharmaceuticals, in Nutley, until he retired in 1981. He stayed in New Jersey for another 9 years waiting for Carmen to retire. In 1990, they moved to Malabar, Florida, living there for 11 years, before re-settling south in West Palm Beach. In more than 30 years in retirement, Newton and his wife Carmen enjoyed working in their garden, traveling with their children and visiting them across the country. They also enjoyed maintaining family ties, particularly with relatives in New York, Jamaica and England. Newton is survived by his wife of 61 years, Carmen Purkiss; sister, Nellie Purkiss; four children, Crosby, Ewan, Joan and June; seven grandchildren, Adria, Devon, Candace, Danielle, Julian, Justin and Jason; daughters in-law Cynthia and Linda; son-in-law Joseph; sisters-in-law Grace Carter, Rita Russell, Sheila Vernon, Jean Peters and Joan Purkiss; and countless nieces, nephews, close relatives and longtime friends.