Naomi Gale Purcell

MIDDLETOWN, RI - Naomi Gale Nelson Purcell, 68, of 791 Lantern Hill Road, Ledyard, CT, died peacefully at the home of her daughter Michele Kluth after a long illness on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.She was the wife of Larry T. Purcell. Born in Newport, RI on August 21, 1940, she was the daughter of the late Russell Carl and Sarah Thompson Nelson.Mrs. Purcell worked as a home health care aid for 10 years in private duty, retiring in 2007. She was a member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Groton, CT and a member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Aquidneck Island Chapter, where she also served as Chaplain from 2003 to 2005, and was also a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was the founder and president of Bread of Life Ministries of New London County. Mrs. Purcell was an avid gardener and doll collector. She enjoyed traveling to Ireland, loved cooking and helping the elderly and homeless. Besides her husband of 34 years, she is survived by her daughters, Susanne Cardoza Cameron and her husband Gary of North Stonington, CT and Michele Cardoza Kluth and her husband Brian of Middletown, RI, her brother Russell Nelson, II of Redby, MN and her grandson Joseph Nelson Alcocer of Hartford, CT.She was the sister of the late Charles Theodore Nelson. Her funeral and burial will be private. Donations in her memory may be made to Visiting Nurse Services of Newport Bristol Counties, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.