Janet S. Purdy, 97, of Ithaca, New York, was welcomed into the arms of her Lord and Savior on July 12, 2026. She passed peacefully sitting in her favorite chair. She was born August 7, 1928 to Louis H. Strasser and Bessie B. Strasser.

After graduating High School in Norwich, New York, Janet attended SUNY Morrisville to study horticulture. Her career took a different path when her mother encouraged her to enroll in a program for radiology technicians at Syracuse University Hospital. After graduating Janet married her High School sweetheart, Harold Purdy, on September 3, 1951, Labor Day. She always joked, “I got married on Labor Day and I’ve been working ever since!”.

Shortly after, Harold was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps and they moved to Parris Island, SC. Janet took a job at the base commissary. After his service the two moved back to their hometown to welcome their first child, Chris.

Months later they moved to Cleveland, OH, for the start of Harold's dental school education. Janet said that God was watching over them because the Cleveland Clinic was starting a new day care program for their workers and she was able to secure employment there as a radiology technician.

Upon graduation, they decided on Ithaca for their new life. After a few years of working in other practices, Harold opened his own practice, while on the same day Janet gave birth to their second child, Jan. Janet’s full time job became raising her children, with Marc being born 3 years later and Kim 4 years after that.

She was the quintessential child rearing, home economist, chief cook and bottle washer. And don't forget uber driver for many of her children’s various activities. When vacation time came, she packed for a family of six and then alternated driving to Ormond Beach for 20+ hours straight, no hotels. Janet was a wonderful cook and baker, a skill she learned from her mother and passed onto all of her children. No weekly menu was ever the same and everything was made from scratch. She became famous for her oatmeal and molasses cookies, chocolate cake and apple pie. If you looked in her freezer there were at least six containers of different cookies ready to eat.

Not only did she run the household, but she was Harold’s righthand man. Whether it was building their dream home, building the new dental office or refurbishing a classic boat, Janet was right in there doing the dirty work. She learned the trade of masonry mortaring, saying it was like frosting a cake.

Once her children started going off to college Janet shifted gears and became Harold’s dental assistant and eventual office manager. She used her skills developed from working with many accident victims from her previous hospital experience to help comfort and ease their patients. Many past patients commented on how she helped them get through difficult procedures. For twenty plus years she helped build an efficient, caring and thriving practice that they were both very proud of.

For Janet, family was at the center of her heart. She enjoyed having the house full with her kids, relatives and friends. And when the grand-kids came, that was a whole new adventure filled with love.

Her other interests were boating, waterskiing, snow skiing, gardening, sewing and flower arranging. Janet’s creativity was always on display at the yearly Ellis Hollow Fair, where she helped create some of the most beautiful quilts and floral arrangements. She loved helping other people and volunteered at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen.

Janet and Harold often traveled to Arizona and took ski trips to Vail, CO. In later years she and Harold were able to enjoy trips to the Middle East and Australia.

Janet was a devoted daughter, wife, sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She is survived by her son, Dr. Chris (Dr. Patricia) Purdy of Rochester, MI, daughter, Jan (James) Greer of Harriman, TN, son Dr. Marc (Michaela) of Ithaca, and daughter, Kim (Michael) Cerone of Colonie, NY. She is also survived by two grand-daughters, Dr. Samantha (Dr. Adrian) Schrell of Knoxville, TN and Alexandra Purdy of Dublin, OH, and two grand-sons, Andrew (Elizabeth) Cerone of Albany, NY and Benjamin Cerone of San Antonio, TX. She was also blessed with two great-grandsons, Levi and August Schrell. Janet is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff at Kendal of Ithaca for their outstanding care and compassion towards Janet.

Her memorial service will be at Kendal at Ithaca’s main auditorium on August 7, 2026, @ 2:15pm, which would have been her 98th birthday. For those unable to attend, please check back for a link to the live streaming of the service.

In lue of flowers the family asks that a donation be made in Janet’s name to either the Metro World Child, https://www.metroworldchild.org/, an organization held a special place in Janet’s heart and she spent many hours making Christmas stockings to support them or to The Salvation Army.