Daniel "Dan" K. Purdom

Daniel “Dan” Kirkland Purdom, 93, of Staunton, Virginia, died on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 7, 1932, Dan was the son of Herald Bohon Purdom and Julia “June” Mason Dyer Purdom.

He is survived by his wife of seventy years, Jo Frances Purdom; his son, Dan, Jr. and daughter-in-law, Amy Purdom (Staunton, VA); his daughters, Laura Purdom (Northport, ME) and Mary Sarah Stout (San Francisco, CA); and three grandsons, Ben Purdom (Vinton, VA), Sam Purdom (Truckee, CA) and Kirby Purdom as well as his daughter-in-law Iskeyla Purdom (Tampa, FL).

Dan was a Presbyterian minister, having received ordination through the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and a Master’s Degree in Christian education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. For eighteen years, Dan served as the associate pastor and youth minister at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Lakeside Park, Kentucky. At Lakeside Dan established a preschool program that flourishes to this day. He also built a thriving youth program through which he was able to positively influence the lives of scores of young people. Dan retired from Lakeside Presbyterian in 1983 and subsequently served as an interim pastor for several congregations in northern Kentucky and southern Ohio, shepherding them through the process of calling a new minister.

Dan’s greatest joy was spending time with his family. From his youth into middle age, he enjoyed participating in community sports, especially softball, bowling, and volleyball. Later in life he took up woodworking, creating dozens of small sculptures which he often gifted to his family.

It’s fitting that Dan’s mother, June, named him after her favorite song, “Danny Boy”, as he was a natural musician with a beautiful baritone voice. He grew up playing brass instruments, and he could improvise on the piano as well as the harmonica. He played the guitar and ukulele, favoring standards from the 30s and 40s. Dan often made-up songs and stories on long automobile trips to entertain his three young children.

Dan’s father, a professional baseball player and high school coach, died of cancer when Dan was still an infant. Dan’s earliest years were spent in Princeton, Kentucky with his grandparents, Darius and Betty Dyer, who cared for him while his mother attended teacher’s college to prepare herself to support her family. Later, Dan rejoined his mother, attending schools in Miami, Florida and Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. In middle school and high school, Dan was a boarding student at the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee where he graduated in 1950. In Dan’s teenage years, Armor Atwell “Happy” Sizer became Dan’s stepfather. Happy became an elder friend to Dan and supported Dan’s education at the Webb School, Center College, and Louisville Seminar.

As retirees, Dan and Jo Frances spent parts of each winter in St. Augustine, Florida where they made many friends and enjoyed walking and riding bikes on the beach, playing tennis and organizing bridge games. They traveled in Europe several times over the years and developed a special fondness for the British Isles.

Dan and Jo Frances met at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky when Dan and a group of friends trooped down to the women’s campus to serenade the first-year women. They later got to know each other through their participation in the college choir. Dan and Jo Frances were married on June 21, 1955, at Centenary Methodist Church in Ashland, Kentucky

Dan will be remembered for his kindness, his easy-going approach to life, his ready sense of humor and his selfless and friendly nature.