PURTELL JOSEPH M

CPT Joseph "Joe" M Purtell was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 05/03/2010 at the age of 77.7
Date of Birth 08/05/1932
Served in the U.S. Navy
Served in Vietnam with HS-2 in 69
This information was provided by Obit

More detail on this person: Captain Joseph M. Purtell USN Ret. passed away Monday, May 3, 2021. He was the son of the late Joseph A. and Marie R. Purtell of Jamaica Walk, Breezy Point. Joe was a summer resident of "The Point" from the 1940's to 2018. He was also preceded in passing by his wives, Julie (Henderson), Liz (Williams), daughter Deanna Gaston, sons Joseph Jr., Kevin, sister Marie Haug and sister Margaret of Maryknoll Sisters. He is survived by sons David, Mark (Ingrid), son-in-law Dr. Bob Gaston, daughter-in-law Niki, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Joe graduated from Regis H.S. in NYC, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA and with a MS from the US Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA. He served as an Aviator in the US Navy for thirty years in Antarctica, Vietnam and many years of carrier based anti-submarine missions in the north Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific areas. He commanded two squadrons and NAS Jacksonville. He also served as Head of the Rotary Wing (Design) Branch and was instrumental in bringing the SEAHAWK helicopter and LAMPS MK III Weapons System to the Fleet. After the Navy, he represented the Sikorsky Aircraft corporation as Director, International Business. In retirement, he and Liz were "Snow Birds" living at IRCC in Viera, Fl. But spending the summers in Breezy point. A Funeral Mass will be held 1:00 P.M. Saturday, May 8, 2021 at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church Viera, 5655 Stadium Pkwy Melbourne, Florida. Donations St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105 Tel: 1-800-805-5856 Web: http://www.stjude.org/ Disabled American Veterans 400 South Sykes Creek Parkway, Merritt Island FL 32952 Tel: 1-321-452-1774 Web: https://www.dav.org/ Wounded Warrior Project 7020 A.C. Skinner Parkway, Suite 100, Jacksonville FL 32256 Tel: 1-877-832-6997 Web: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

This information was last updated 05/10/2021

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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025