Gray, Eleanor

Other Events:

• Immigration: Abt 1882
• Death Record - Civil: 3 Sep 1906

Notes:

Death Record - Civil:
Name: Eleanor Weissenborn
Death Date: 03 Sep 1906
County: Outagamie
Volume: 03
Page #: 0435
Reel: 105
Image: 1569
Index Volume: -
ImageNum: 105675
Sequence #: 412275
Level Info: Wisconsin Vital Records Death Index.

Eleanor married Weissenborn, Albert Abt 1885. Albert (son of Weissenborn, Henry and Unknown, Unknownf) was born 6 Sep 1863, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA; died 2 Jun 1938, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Birth - Civil Record: 5 Jun 1886
• 1910 Census: 1910, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
• 1930 Census: 1930, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA

Notes:

Birth - Civil Record:
Annette Irene Weissenborn
Titles and Terms:
Event Type:Birth
Event Date:05 Jun 1886
Event Place:Springfield, Hampden, Mass.
Gender:
Race:
Registration Date:
Registration Place:
Christening Date:
Christening Place:
Christening Age:
Death Date:
Death Age:
Father's Name:Albert B. Weissenborn
Father's Titles and Terms:
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name:Eleanor A. Gray
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Paternal Grandfather's Name:
Paternal Grandmother's Name:
Maternal Grandfather's Name:
Maternal Grandmother's Name:
Additional Relatives:
Reference ID:P477-397
GS Film number:1428209
Digital Folder Number:4341204
Image Number:380

Citing this Record:
"Massachusetts, Births, 1841-1915," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXD2-KC9 : accessed 11 Oct 2014), Annette Irene Weissenborn, 05 Jun 1886; citing Springfield, Hampden, Mass., P477-397, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 1428209.

1910 Census:
Albert Weissenborn 46
Annette I Weissenborn 23
Martha Godfried 23

1930 Census:
Roy PurdyHeadM40Canada
Annette PurdyWifeF42Massachusetts
Hampton R PurdySonM13Wisconsin
Bruce PurdySonM12Wisconsin
Lucile CochenitServantF35Wisconsin
Anna MickeServantF20Wisconsin

Citing this Record:
"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X9S4-2W3 : accessed 11 Oct 2014), Annette Purdy in household of Roy Purdy, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0001, sheet 4B, family 97, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2603.

Annette married Purdy, Roy 1 Oct 1914, , , Illinois, USA. Roy was born 25 Mar 1890, , , , Canada; died 23 Aug 1971, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Military Service: Between 14 Nov 1942 and 8 Dec 1945; WWII,

Notes:

Military Service:
Name:Robert Purdy
Gender:Male
Birth Date:5 May 1916
Death Date:1 Apr 1976
SSN:399095383
Enlistment Date 1:14 Nov 1942
Release Date 1:8 Dec 1945

Other Events:

• 1930 Census: 1930, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
• Biography: 2005
• Induction: Abt 2005; International Paper Hall of Fame
• Media: 2005; Video from Paper Makers International Hall of Fame (.flv video length 3:20)
• Obituary: 8 Mar 2009; Appleton Post Crescent
• Obituary: 8 Mar 2009; San Francisco Chronicle

Notes:

1930 Census:
Roy Purdy 40
Annette Purdy 42
Hampton R Purdy 13
Bruce Purdy 12
Lucile Cochenit 35
Anna Micke 20

Biography:
Bruce Purdy was born November 2, 1917, in Appleton, Wisconsin. He attended Appleton public schools and Northwestern Military Academy. He graduated in 1940 from the University of Michigan with a degree in mechanical/industrial engineering. He enrolled for several years in the Harvard Business School before leaving to join Douglas Aircraft to help with the World War II effort.

In 1944 Mr. Purdy joined Appleton Wire Works. He retired in 1973, but remained active in the company as a director of Albany International Corporation (the result of a merger of Appleton Wire Works with Albany Felt Company) until 1990.

In 1954, Mr. Purdy transformed the wire weaving technology of the early 1900s for papermachine clothing with the revolutionary development of an automated wire looming operation. Prior to the development of the automated loom, it took four years of training as an apprentice to become a weaver. On the first official day running the automated loom at Appleton Wire Works, May Tournow, the forelady of the winding department, successfully ran the largest loom in the plant, with the most expensive wire and with no problem in that first run. She had never run a loom before.

Purdy was instrumental in creating significant other paper machine clothing manufacturing and performance improvements.

He and his wife, Barbara, have five children, ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Induction:
His Grandfather Albert Weissenborn founded Appleton Wire works and was also inducted to th ePaper Hall of Fame in 2009.

Obituary:
Purdy, Bruce Barton Industrialist Engineer
Bruce Barton Purdy died peacefully on February 27th, 2009, at his home in Tiburon, California, at the age of 91. His sharp awareness, concern for others and wonderful sense of humor remained even in his final days.
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Bruce's life was based on a commitment of service to his community, his work, his family and to God.
His amazing personal drive was evident at an early age and continued to be the hallmark of his life. As a Boy Scout he set a Valley record by earning 54 merit badges and becoming an Eagle Scout in the shortest time possible. He was awarded the maximum number of Eagle Palms.
He attended Northwestern Military Academy and was offered an appointment to West Point upon graduation. He attended Lawrence College where he belonged to Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He transferred to the University of Michigan where he earned a B.S. in Mechanical Industrial Engineering. He did post graduate work at Harvard Business School.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was offered a teaching position in Harvard's engineering department, but chose to support his country by reporting for military duty. To his dismay he was classified as "4F" because of a history of multiple broken bones (including his neck) due to accidents as a gymnast and an equestrian. Determined to help the war effort, he worked in Southern California for Douglas Aircraft Engineering in Research and Development and in the Tooling Division as a production efficiency expert and mechanical engineer. His work included the A-26 Invader, the A-24 / SBD Dauntless, the DC 3, the C-47 Skytrain, the C-53 Skytrooper, the DB-7 Boston Bomber and the DB-7A Havoc Mk II Night Fighter.
While at Douglas Aircraft he met and married Barbara Gastil, a graduate of Stanford University.
During the Battle of the Bulge, he returned to Appleton Wire Works to produce the urgently needed 37mm fuse caps for artillery shells. Within three weeks time they were at a level of production equal to that of a pre-existing factory in Milwaukee.
His engineer grandfather Albert Weissenborn died, so after World War II, with a deep sense of obligation, he returned to work at Appleton Wire Works, a company owned by the Purdy/Weissenborn and Buchanan families in a 50/50 partnership. He was the only family member who was a qualified engineer, so he took on the challenge of furthering his grandfather's wire weaving technology.
Bruce made improvements to all aspects of the labor-intensive operations of the mechanical loom. These improvements benefited the workforce as well as the paper industry. After several years of secret effort, his innovations went beyond mechanical improvements, with the revolutionary development of the first automated Fourdrinier loom in the United States. Bruce believed in, and inspired his team to work together to create the cutting edge technology that ultimately helped advance the company to the largest and most successful manufacturer of paper forming fabrics in the world.
He designed and constructed the largest wire finishing table ever built, and the first fully automated wire loom.
When plastics began to replace metal wire cloth, he designed the first heat setting table, which gave plastic cloth added flexibility and durability. He also developed a system for joining polyester fabric.
As a registered professional engineer in Alabama and Wisconsin, he was awarded numerous patents, including over 100 claims, however many of his innovations where kept secret from competitors and therefore were never submitted for patents. During his time at Appleton Wire Works, he served as the director of engineering, vice president, and board member.
After the Appleton Wire Works merged with the Albany Felt Company in 1969, he remained active in the company serving on the board of directors until his retirement in 1990.
In 2005 he was inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the industry.
Over the years, he and his wife have made numerous philanthropic contributions to various organizations within the Appleton community and beyond and have jointly contributed with the Buchanan's as equal owners of Appleton Wire Works and the Outagamie Corporation.
He was involved in more business endeavors than space allows. Some key positions he held were as a director, vice president and president of the International Wire Works; a director and vice president of the Tuttle Press Company; a director, secretary, vice president and president of Outagamie Corporation, a holding company; a director of the First National Bank of Appleton, the Appleton Building and Loan, and the W. S. Patterson Company.
His love of aviation led him to be the Vice Chairman of the Citizens' Aviation Advisory Committee, a contributing member of the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association). As a director of the Chamber of Commerce he campaigned for a new Appleton airport. He was one of the original founders of the regional airline, Air Wisconsin, its first Vice President, and served thereafter as a board member until its merger with United Airlines in 1989.
Bruce generously gave back to the community in which he lived. Not all of his activities are mentioned, however, one of his contributions was the uniting of individual service groups under the umbrella of United Community Services for which he served as its first president.
In recognition of his community service, he was awarded the Junior Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award. Some of his other service activities included president and a director of St. Elizabeth Hospital, and of the Appleton Rotary Club. He was a 32nd Degree Mason.
He was a director of Riverview Country Club and North Shore Golf Club.
Service to his church was heartfelt and an expression of his deep faith. He served as Secretary, Vestryman, building fund drive Chairman, finance committee Chairman, Junior Warden, Trustee and Senior Warden of All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton. In 1982 he and his wife moved to Incline Village, on the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada. There he became involved with Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church. As senior warden, he was instrumental in finding a new building site and in spearheading the construction of a larger church which now better serves the needs of that community.
He loved animals, nature and enjoyed the outdoors. He was committed to being a good steward of the earth. In 1957 he began acquiring land which he combined to form Apple Hill Farms. He raised prize-winning Charolais cattle and refused to treat the cattle with unnecessary chemicals long before 'organic' became a household word. Guided by the most current conservation principles of the time, he protected forested areas, dug ponds, sowed wild seeds and maintained wildlife sanctuaries. With his sons, he personally planted thousands of seedling trees.
Annually for over 30 years, he welcomed school children for the Outagamie County Conservation Field Days. Children would spend the day learning from teachers and conservationists about nature and the conservation methods employed on Apple Hill Farms. Apple Hill Farms is now a beautiful residential development of over 1,200 acres which incorporates the ponds and wild life sanctuaries which he nurtured.
Bruce has been a longtime supporter of the YMCA. In his early thirties the YMCA dubbed him "Mr. Appleton" "...the most community minded individual in Appleton." As president and building fund drive chairman of the Appleton YMCA, he advocated the relocation of the old building to its current location on Lawrence Street and served as a director for 28 years.
His most recent philanthropic effort involved the Apple Creek YMCA. He donated a 13-acre commercial building site for this new Fox Cities YMCA nature and wellness center. He contributed 3.7 million dollars toward construction costs for the 26,000 square foot facility. In addition, as an expression of his desire to encourage environmentally responsible education for the younger generation, Bruce donated the adjacent 104 acres for the Bruce B. Purdy Nature Preserve.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara Gastil Purdy, their five children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in his honor at All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, on April 18th, 2009 at 11 a.m. with Canon William Johnston officiating.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made through donations to the Apple Creek YMCA and Bruce B. Purdy Nature Preserve. Donations can be sent to: YMCA of the Fox Cities, c\\o Bruce Purdy Memorial, 218 E. Lawrence Street, Appleton, WI 54911

Obituary:
Bruce Barton Purdy Died peacefully Feb. 27, 2009 at his home in Tiburon, CA, at age 91. His sharp awareness, concern for others and sense of humor remained even in his final days. Born in Appleton, WI, Bruce based his life on a commitment of service to his community, his work, his family and to God. His amazing personal drive was evident at an early age and continued to be the hallmark of his life. He earned a B.S. in mechanical industrial engineering at University of Michigan and did post graduate work at Harvard Business School. During WWII he worked for Douglas Aircraft Engineering in Research and Development and in the Tooling Division as a production efficiency expert and mechanical engineer. While at Douglas Aircraft he met and married Barbara Gastil, a graduate of Stanford University. Bruce is known for the revolutionary development of the first automated Fourdrinier loom in the United States. He designed and constructed the largest wire finishing table ever built and the first heat setting table, which gave plastic cloth added flexibility and durability. He also developed a system for joining polyester fabric used in paper making. He was awarded numerous patents, including over 100 claims. Many secret innovations were not submitted. In 2005 he was inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. He was one of the original founders of the regional airline Air Wisconsin, was its first vice president and served as a board member until its merger with United Airlines in 1989. Service to his church was heartfelt and an expression of his deep faith. He was active in All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton, WI, and St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Incline Village, NV. Bruce, a longtime supporter of the YMCA and many other community efforts, was dubbed "Mr. Appleton... the most community minded individual in Appleton." He served as a YMCA director for 28 years. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara Gastil Purdy; their five children, 10 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held in his honor at All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton, WI, on April 18, 2009 at 11 AM with Canon William Johnston officiating. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made through donations to the Apple Creek YMCA and Bruce B. Purdy Nature Preserve. Donations can be sent to: YMCA of the Fox Cities, c\\o Bruce Purdy Memorial, 218 E. Lawrence Street, Appleton, WI 54911.

Bruce married Gastil, Barbara [Group Sheet]

Steven married St. Pierre, Jeanne Louise [Group Sheet]

Steven married Thompson, Debra Jean [Group Sheet]