George M. Purvis,
’49 B.S.F., ’50 M.S.G.M., died August 15, 2008 in Little
Rock, Ark., at the age of 83. The November-December, 2008
issue of
Arkansas Wildlife,
which Purvis helped to start in 1967, has an editorial and
an article about George’s 36-year career in the Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission. George was an outdoor authority
through newspaper columns, a long-running radio show, and
two television programs. He had passion, conviction, and
strong beliefs. An avid fisherman and a duck hunter who
stressed ethics, George was an ardent marksman, an archer, a
photographer, and a painter. In his early years he yearned
to be a full-time artist. At his funeral, the preacher asked
how many people owned George Purvis paintings. “Two or three
hundred hands went up.” His son Bob commented that his
father believed in the kind of hunting and fishing that the
average guy could do. George is also survived by his
daughters Neva Robertson of Klawock, Alaska, and Sara Brown
of Little Rock. His wife, Laura Belle, died in 1993.
Read a more about George Purvis in the
November/December issue of the
Arkansas Wildlife Newsletter.
