Lorene Huskey Purnell

Reidsville- Mrs. Lorene Huskey Purnell, 83, of 577 Salem Church Rd., Reidsville, NC passed away on the 21st of January at home. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at Wilkerson Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Danville Memorial Gardens. A native of Caswell County, she was a daughter of the late William Henry Huskey and Ada Strader Huskey and had lived some of her life in Rockingham County. Lorene was an active attendee of Pelham United Methodist Church. She was a co-owner of Purnell’s Inc. Body Shop in Danville, VA along with her late husband Swanson Nathanial Purnell where she continued to run the shop after his death until 2006 at the age of 76. She was also a cosmetologist in Reidsville where she worked at Hair Designs before opening up Lorene’s Beauty Shop on Grooms Rd. She was an avid NASCAR fan following the career of Bill Elliott. One of the highlights in her life was participating in the Coca Cola 600 parade lap at Charlotte Motor Speedway with her husband, Swanson, inside an imitation Bill Elliot car he built in their body shop. She was a past president of the Pelham Community Center for over 15 years and was instrumental in raising funds to pay off their mortgage. Lorene was preceded in death by her husband, Swanson; daughter, Donna Renee Knowles; sister, Alice Bray, Louise Smith, Dorothy Owens, Elizabeth Huskey, and brother, Bill Huskey. Survivors include son, Steve Knowles (Pat); step-sons, Mike Purnell (Cindy); Dennis Purnell (Susan); Rusty Purnell (Penny) and brother, Don Huskey (Lynn) of Altavista, VA. Grandchildren include Jennifer K. Bondurant (Mac), Brian Knowles (Brittany), Penny Shea (Brian), Chris Purnell, Adam Purnell (Ashley), Melanie Gillespie, Sissy Graham (Malcolm), Cori Adams (Russ), Amanda Newsome (Randy), Billy Hyler; Rusty Purnell and sixteen great grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Friday, January 23rd at Wilkerson Funeral Home from 6:00 – 8:00 PM and other times at her residence. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Kim Peterman and Tomi Myers along with the staff of Hospice Home of Rockingham County for their help, kindness and compassion. Memorials may be sent to the Pelham Community Center at 161 Arthur Carter Lane, Pelham, NC 27311 or the Hospice Home of Rockingham County at P.O. Box 281, Wentworth, NC 27375.