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Geoffrey Purcell, 85, died at his home on Monday, September 19, 2005. He was born in Wales and attended college for a short time before joining the Royal Navy as a fighter pilot in the Second World War. He served principally in the Mediterranean, and later became a flight instructor in Lewiston, Maine. After the war, he returned to England to finish his B.Sc. in mining at the University of Birmingham and to work as an assistant mine manager for Britain's National Coal Board. Awarded a scholarship to study and travel in the United States, he earned his M.S. in mining from Pennsylvania State University and met Alice Kipps, a graduate student in English. They married in 1953, while Geoff was employed as overseas sales manager for Dowty Mining Equipment. Following a four-year residence in England, Alice and Geoff returned to Penn State, where Alice gave birth to Charles Kipps (Kip) Purcell in 1959. In 1961, Geoff received a doctorate in mineral preparation and moved his family to Socorro to take a teaching position at New Mexico Tech. He remained at Tech for 29 years, serving at various times as assistant academic dean and chairman of the metallurgy department. In 1984 he became the first recipient of Tech's Distinguished Teaching Award. He is survived by Alice and Kip; by his daughter-in-law, Georgia Will; by his grandchildren, Dylan and Elena; and by five nieces and nephews in the U.K. He was preceded in death by his brother Ron and sister-in-law Doris. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2005, at 4:00 p.m., at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, 601 Montano NW. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the New Mexico Boys & Girls Ranch, 6209 Hendrix NE, Albuquerque, NM. 87110, or Socorro Good Samaritan Village, P.O. Box 1279, Socorro, NM. 87801. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE 843-6333
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