Edward T. Purkey
God, Ava, Family, Country
Yesterday evening, my sister-in-law, Amy Gravis, and I were crowded against the front door of
Farmer’s because that was the only place left where we could go. Then, Amy reminded me of
something I had heard before, but forgotten: Eddie had been concerned that not many
people would attend his funeral.
That was typical of our Eddie: he underestimated the impact he had on people’s lives.
As I look around today, I see that we are not a family that comes together only for funerals.
We look for any excuse to get together – birthdays, anniversaries, Fridays. We love to
celebrate, and we’re good at it. After all, we’ve had good role models: Aunt Helen and Uncle
Glenn, Aunt Ted and Uncle Floyd, Aunt Lurlie and Uncle Perry, Aunt Houstene and Uncle
Ben, Debbie and Ken, Pam and Kearney, Ava and Eddie.
These great loves have been the bedrock of our lives. Eddie knew how truly blessed he was
to have that most treasured gift. He loved our Ava with all his heart.
When the Die girls first met Eddie, we were jealous because we did not want him taking Ava
away from us. She was our sweetheart, our helper, and our peacemaker. Eddie saw these
qualities, of course. How could he not? And for years, the girls felt that Eddie was trying to
keep Ava away from us.
What we didn’t understand was that Eddie just wanted to be part of us – part of the family.
Finally and gently, Eddie worked his way into our circle. And so today, we bury one of our
own.
Eddie and Ava were married for 30 years. He wrote on his MySpace page that he was married
to “a great lady who shared his love for the outdoors.” The time they spent together,
planning trips to the lease, bow hunting, fishing and feeding deer were the happiest
moments they shared. This was their communion.
Above all, Eddie loved his Lord with all his soul. Yesterday, Brother Logan shared a quote with
us to give us comfort. He said:
It is better to be absent from the body and be present with the Lord.
More than anything, Eddie’s actions were governed by what he thought was right by God. He
was unswervingly genuine in his faith.
I would like to close today with a recent story that perfectly exemplifies Eddie’s true
goodness.
Two weeks ago, Eddie was leaving a store in the driving rain, when he saw an older man
sitting in the cab of his truck, which had a flat tire. Eddie offered to help change the man’s
tire, because it was pouring rain, and that was just what Eddie would do.
Eddie was a strong man – but try as he might, the lug nuts would not budge. He tried his own
tools – to no avail. Finally, Eddie told the man, “Stay right here. I’m going to borrow some
tools from Discount Tire.”
So he did. Leaving his license at the counter, Eddie borrowed the tools, returned to the
older man’s truck, and changed the tire. The entire ordeal took two hours (in the rain!).
When the man offered to pay Eddie $100, Eddie politely refused. He said, “I didn’t do all this
for money. I did it for you.”
Eddie did it, of course, because it was right, and because he was a good man.
It is better to be absent from the body and be present with the Lord.
Our beloved, sweet, giant-hearted Eddie is with his Lord. That’s what he always wanted most.