NEWS editor, reporter recalled > Purcell worked at Bangor paper 31 years

BANGOR – Jeanne Purcell held a number of jobs during her 31 years at the Bangor Daily News. But whether she was reporting, heading up the women’s pages or staffing the copy desk, one thing remained constant.

“She had a presence,” said Richard Shaw, editorial page assistant.

Purcell died Wednesday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. She was 74.

A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Purcell joined the NEWS staff shortly after moving to Maine in 1957.

After eight years on the state desk as a reporter and copy editor, she was named editor of the women’s pages where she helped cover food, fashion, features and social news. Later, she was assigned to the copy desk.

Given to wearing casual pants and plaid shirts, Purcell kept her salt and pepper hair short and straight, her former colleagues recalled Wednesday.

“She had no pretenses,” said Shaw, calling her a “walking encyclopedia.”

Purcell’s journalistic ability was always on display, he said, recalling a particularly colorful story she wrote when Bangor’s Penobscot Exchange Hotel was torn down in the late 1960s.

“She had great perspective and a lively way of putting words together,” he said.

Her nose for news never let her down, according to former news editor Ky Ayoob.

“She was a good newspaper gal, she knew a good story when she saw one,” he said.

Purcell had a real work ethic too, according to former state editor Len Harlow .

“She was probably the most efficient and accurate copy reader we had,” he said. “She’d devour column after column. She endeared herself to everyone because she’d pick up stuff nobody else wanted and do a great job.”

With a dry sense of humor and a laid back attitude, Purcell would peer over her bifocals and deliver a bounty of witticisms, according to NEWS reporter Nancy Garland.

“Well, I had to park out in the Levant parking lot,” Purcell commented after a lengthy walk from the newly expanded parking area.

Nothing ever rattled Purcell, graphics editor Jack Loftus recalled. “She was a remarkable person,” he said. “If something fell through at the last minute, she’d always say, ‘don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.”‘

She had a knack for making people feel important, according to NEWS columnist Joni Averill, who hadn’t yet joined the staff when she met Purcell.

As a community volunteer, Averill would bring Purcell announcements from the Junior League and other women’s organizations.

Later, Averill found her a thoughtful, caring co-worker.

“She was always concerned about people, she’d always want to know how you were doing,” said Averill. “And she never forgot to ask about your kids.”

Sharing a love of dogs and the outdoors, Purcell and NEWS columnist Tom Hennessey got along famously.

Purcell, who lived for a time at Green Lake, often would stop in to Hennessey’s office to talk about the fishermen she frequently observed.

Sometimes she’d bring him a copy of a news story she thought he’d enjoy.

One time she handed Hennessey a clipping of the obituary of a syndicated columnist she knew he admired.

“I really appreciated her thoughtfulness,” he said. “And I still have that clipping.”

Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.

Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Philmont, N.Y. Gifts in Purcell’s memory may be sent to the American Cancer Society, Maine Division Inc., 52 Federal St., Brunswick, ME 04011.