Purcell, Carol Marie spouse, mother, grandmother, teacher, friend, passed away on Sunday morning, June 9, 2019, four years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Carol was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 2, 1948, to Thomas J. Purcell and Ann Hallvax Purcell. She is survived by her brother, Thomas J. Purcell; sister, Pat Purcell; husband, Marc Burgett; son, Paul Burgett; daughter, Ellen Morrison (Ben); grandsons, Aidan, Wesley, Julien and Ethan. Carol graduated from Visitation Academy in St. Louis and St. Louis University. She received her Masters Degree in Mathematics from the Catholic University of America. She spent most of her career teaching math at the college level, the last twenty-three years at Century Community College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. She loved the discipline of mathematics and the students she taught. She held them, and herself, to the highest standards. She held us all to the highest standards. Carol met Marc on a blind date that worked out in 1969. They married in 1973 and moved to Minneapolis in 1975. She was Marc's closest friend in life, his only love, his constant companion on many travels and adventures, the toughest and most insightful critic of his writing. She was always the last person he showed his work to before he considered it finished. Since her retirement in 2013, Carol and Marc concentrated on living the ordinary life in an extraordinary way. She loved her family, travel, dining well, movies, theater, the Times crossword puzzles, bicycling, reading, hiking, being with friends, and naps. She was a generous, kind, intelligent, principled and fun person. She was many things to the many people who loved her. Carol was a good mother who said that she would know she succeeded as a parent if her adult children wrote thank-you notes. When Paul and Ellen were young, Carol described her parenting with pride and irony by proclaiming, "I'm the mean one." Yet as adults, Paul and Ellen knew that in Carol they had not only a good mother but also a true and good friend. Carol and Ellen grew very close in Carol's last years, and had a joyful trip to their favorite city, Paris, months before Carol's passing. Carol was always attuned to the needs and wishes of her family and friends. She was the friend you wanted when you hit a rough patch on your life's journey, and in retirement she became the catalyst for good times with the wide circle of friends she and Marc shared. Carol was proud to be "sometimes wrong, sometimes right, but never in doubt." This got her in trouble from time to time with those who loved her, but never for long. Marc called her the Queen of Finding Things, for her uncanny ability to locate anything, whether lost keys or a little-known, off the beaten track restaurant on a road trip. Carol was delightfully irreverent. In the 1970's, people cried at a line from the movie, Love Story, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Carol knew this to be untrue and made a bright wall hanging of gold burlap with green felt letters for Marc that read, "Love means never having to say I'm hungry." When Carol stood up to the pancreatic cancer that she knew from the outset would take her life, she was an inspiration to everyone. She took an active role in researching and planning her treatment regimen with her oncologist, even suggesting the drug protocol for her chemotherapy (which the doctor agreed with!). She continued to live her life to the fullest after her diagnosis, many grueling treatments and surgery. She and Marc traveled many miles hiking and bicycling across the country and around the world. She no longer had an ordinary life, but she continued to live in an extraordinary way. When the end came, it happened as Carol wanted from the start. With no more treatments, she passed away in her home, pain-free and peacefully, surrounded by her family, surrounded by love. The memory of Carol's smile, her enthusiasm, and her quiet joy will comfort us always. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in Carol's name to one of the following: The Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis, 1527 Fremont Avenue N. Minneapolis, MN 55411. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, 1954 University Avenue W., St. Paul, Minnesota 55104.

Published on June 23, 2019