November 26, 1939- November 11, 2024

Janet Roberts Purcell, 84, passed away on November 11, 2024 after a brief battle with kidney failure and leukemia. Janet was born in Albany, California on November 26, 1939 to parents Anna and Raymond Crist. She attended Sir Francis Drake HS in San Anselmo (class of 1957), was a graduate of UC Berkeley (class of 1961) and member of the Pi Phi sorority. Jan married Gerald Roberts in November of 1961 and after 15 years of General Electric work-related relocations to New York, Virginia, Northern and Southern California, they settled on Mercer Island in 1976. She worked at Wickerware on Mercer Island for several years and enjoyed helping customers and making new friends. After 35 years of marriage, Gerry passed away in 1996 at the age of 59. Jan attended her 40th high school reunion in 1997 where she reconnected with William Purcell, her high school sweetheart. They dated for three years and were married in Kenwood, California in September, 2000. Bill and Jan enjoyed winters in Mesa, Arizona where they made many new friends and memories. Janet was lively, funny, intelligent, kind, a great cook and had a gift of being able to talk to anyone, making it feel like you were lifelong friends. She enjoyed attending her son’s tennis and wrestling matches and hosting UW Lambda Chi’s (Greg)/Sigma Nu’s (Jeff) for weekend dinners. Jan, aka Tutu to her grandkids, was deeply connected to them, rarely missing any of their activities and always keeping in touch with them with texts and photos. She is survived by her husband, William Purcell, brother Raymond Crist (Sharon) and her three sons Jeff (Patty), Greg, David (Lisa), grandchildren- Rachel, Matthew, Abigail, Ethan and her stepson Jeff Purcell (Lisa). Janet’s family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at Overlake Hospital, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Evergreen Hospice and Covenant Living at the Shores Skilled Nursing Facility for their dedication and compassion. She will be deeply missed. A celebration of life for family and friends will be scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at the Mercer Island Community & Events Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her honor to the Jan & Gerry Roberts ‘58 Alumni Scholarship in honor of Jan and Gerry Roberts, scu.edu/give.