Helen Purdy

Helen Purdy was born May 17th, 1917 and passed away at her home in Inglewood, California on February 26th just short of her 93rd birthday.Helen was born in Price, Carbon County, Utah to her father George Edward Bench Jr. and mother Isabelle Barton. The family later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where she attended school.During the depression years, her older brothers Wallace and Edward came to California seeking work. After her brothers were established the whole family moved to Los Angeles except her father who had passed away when Helen was seven years old.Helen worked as a clerk in downtown Los Angeles at S. H. Kress & Co. which was the trade name of a chain of 'five and dime' retail department stores which operated from 1896 to 1981. It was also the 'big band' era, and after work Helen loved to dance. She and her girlfriends she would go to places like the Aragon Ballroom on Lick Pier in Ocean Park, California. to dance and meet young men their age.. It was while dancing she met her future husband Tyler Purdy. They were married in 1939. She recently recounted his proposal as follows: As they were driving together after a date, he told her, 'I think I could live with you forever!' They were married in 1939. Tyler predeceased Helen by twenty four years, he was greatly missed but now the rest of that journey towards forever continues again.They were married during the second world war. Tyler worked for Douglas Aircraft assembling bombers. They first settled in Bellflower, California. Helen was the mother of five children; Richard, Michael, Stephen, Roger and Donna. Their first child had asthma and their doctor suggested that Whittier, California might be a healthier climate for him, so they moved to Whittier about 1944, where they lived until 1970 when they moved to Inglewood to Tyler's former home so that he would not have to commute so far to work.While they lived in Whittier they were part of the nucleus of the first small branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Whittier. There was no church building then and one of the places they met in was an unoccupied municipal courthouse which they helped to refurbish. It was affectionately known to the local members as the 'jailhouse' because there was an iron jail cell in a room behind the podium which served as a classroom.Church members built their own buildings in those days and when the first chapel was built in Whittier on Pickering Avenue, Helen was there with the members of the woman's Relief Society to prepare hot meals for the men that worked on the building. Helen was always active in one or the other of the church's auxiliary organizations; the Primary for young children, the Mutual Improvement Association for young women's or the Relief Society. After moving to Inglewood she served as the Relief Society president there for eighteen years.In addition to her church and family responsibilities she was an excellent seamstress that sewed for her family, a PTA president and managed J.T. Purdy Menu accessories, a family business for 30 years.In the lonely years after Tyler died it was a great blessing that she was given the opportunity to work as a clerk in the Church Distribution Center clothing store. She drove from Inglewood to West Los Angles for fifteen years and retired a few months short of her goal to retire on her 90th birthday due to a bout with congestive heart failure.She is survived by her five children, 23 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren, her younger brother Gordon Bench and nephew Paul Kreiner. There will be a viewing on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 from 10:00-12:00 at White Emerson Mortuary Chapel with a graveside service to follow at Rose Hills in Whittier, California.