Linda R. Purdy

September 27, 1946 - January 15, 2022

Linda R. (Drake) Purdy, 75, of Camillus New York passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday January 15, 2022. Linda was born and raised in Camillus, New York and spent most of her free time tending to her flowers in the first and only home she had ever purchased in Syracuse, New York. She worked for the Syracuse City School District, Onondaga Community College and Jamesville Penitentiary (on the right side of the bars), and various other odd jobs she could find before settling in at the US Postal Service. Every move she made was very well thought out and the goal was to provide a better life and future for her family. As a single mom, she always made a little go a long way. As best we can recall without digging through a bunch of paperwork, she retired from the Post Office in 2008ish. Once retired, Linda was living her dream of doing…absolutely nothing. Not true, she enjoyed seeing her grandchildren, going to see them play baseball, soccer, and any other activity they signed up for. She loved to read, and she was one of the library’s best customers. She also enjoyed various computer games, not sure if anyone ever heard of Criminal Case or Bingo Blitz? She loved traveling with her daughter to “Amish Country”, wherever that is. Not sure if they require a passport there, but Linda did break down and get one so she could accompany her family to Aruba on numerous occasions. She also seemed to enjoy turning down a trip to Yankee Stadium each year to see “Old Timer’s Day”, saying that she preferred to remember those players as we saw them on our old Zenith console television growing up, with really tiny legs. Linda came from a relatively small family but what it lacked in size, it made up for with strength. If the phone rang and it was one of the few family members, it always got answered. If it wasn’t, it went straight to voicemail. She’ll get back to you within 3 business days. She was strong and independent throughout life and that didn’t change in her final days. She went out in much the same way she lived her life, under her own terms, not wanting to cause too much trouble which was always her way. A final message of strength for all of us to learn from. The team she left behind consisted of her daughter, Valerie James (Joshua James-who Linda was very grateful to for “taking Valerie off her hands”), Jason Purdy (Sarah Norcross- who was never going to be good enough, until, alas, she passed her final audition), her sister Carolyn Schultz (Rich), brother Rod Drake (Sandra), close cousin who became more like a sister, Sandy Holbrook (Tom- growing up, he was the de facto “man of the house”- anytime we needed one, fixing things around the house, helping with school projects, etc.) and grandchildren Spencer James and Cooper Purdy, who we’re convinced she told years ago to make sure they followed through on her promise to Valerie and Jason when she said “wait till you have kids of your own”. There are also plenty of nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews who she loved following on social media, where she got a real kick out of “liking” or commenting on nearly every one of their pictures. Passing before her was her favorite person in the world, her mother, Lela Drake (Beardsley) and her father, Horace Drake, who was definitely on her top 10 list. There will be a celebration of Linda’s life planned for the Spring. Keep your eyes out on Ticketmaster for ticketing information. In lieu of flowers, Linda would have probably requested that everyone remember that at the end of the day, it’s the little things that matter most. You can find just as much fun in the journey as you do the destination.