Funeral service for Melba Ann Purvis will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 6, 2023 at Hanceville Funeral Home Chapel. Heath Riggs will officiate the service. Visitation for the public will be from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Thursday at Hanceville Funeral Home.
She was born on April 15, 1940 in Cullman, Alabama to the late Lloyd and Mary (Redding) Jones. She passed away at the age of 82 on March 29, 2023 at her residence in Hanceville, Alabama.
Survivors include her son; Nathan Purvis; daughter, Julie Ann Stein (Kevin); stepchildren, Lisa Marie Dillinger (Ed), Elizabeth Thornton, Cynthia Thornton, Melissa Thornton and Theresa Pruitt (James); grandchildren, Tonya Woods, William Tackaberry, Laura Mitchell, Holly Mitchell, Angelica Mitchell and Ariel Mitchell; great grandchildren, Ethan Wood, Helena Wood and Melody Mitchell; step grandchildren, James Thornton (Jenny), Brian James, John James (Kylie), William Thornton, Loryn Peace (Josh), Kyle Frankhauser, Luke Frankhauser ; step great-grandchildren, Elenor Thornton, Ezra Thornton, Aaron James; sisters, Linda Bianchi and Gail Aldridge; and a host of nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Purvis was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Gerald Ray Purvis and second husband, Elbert Ray Thornton
Melba Ann Purvis, or Ann to her family, friends, and simply Mom to me and my sister, was as simple as she was complex. She loved her family & her God. Among her favorite pastimes were reading, cooking & growing orchids.
She would get so engrossed with her reading that she literally did not hear anyone trying to talk to her. She was right there, immersed in the adventures; alongside the characters in the story…it was her way of escaping. She also used her love of reading to learn the bible and to study the word of God. Sadly, macular degeneration stole all of this from her in her final years.
She was an extremely good cook. She had mastered the staples of southern cuisine and pursued recipes from other genres with enthusiasm!
Her orchids thrived under her care.
She loved living in Hawaii, but spent her last 20+ years back here in her birth state, sweet home Alabama.
