Longtime Alabama Baptist pastor James F. Purnell died May 3. He was 86.
Purnell graduated from Red Level High School in 1952, then served four years in the Navy.
After that, he studied at Howard College (now Samford University) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
During his 60 years of ministry, he served at several churches in northwest Alabama and Pickens County and two tenures at Stansel Baptist Church, Reform.
He retired from Central Baptist Church, Tarrant, in 2018.
Purnell is survived by his wife of 60 years, Gloria; son, Patrick; daughter, Sally; and four grandchildren.
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