Kim Edward Purucker

May 24, 1956 - Aug. 6, 2002

Kim Edward Purucker, 46, passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 6, in his home in Delta Junction, Alaska. He was born on May 24, 1956, to Ervin and Doris Purucker in South Bend, Ind. He was a graduate of LaSalle High School where he was a multipie letter winner in swimming, and won the Kiwanis Award for Outstanding Swimmer his senior year.

After high school, he attended Indiana University South Bend and received a degree in criminal justice. Kim and his wife moved to Bethel, Alaska, in the summer of 1982. They had also lived in Anderson, Ind., where he served as a city councilman, and was very active in the Lions Club International. They also lived in Tok before moving to Delta Junction. Kim was employed as a school bus driver for Alaska Motor Coaches, Inc., and became a state-certified School Bus Driver Trainer, receiving top driver awards for every year.

He later moved up to the job of assistant manager, and was named corporate vice president in 1996. Kim also became a certified Third Party Commercial Driving License Examiner, and earned a National Safety Council 10-year Expert Driver award in 1999. He served as a member of the Delta/Greely School District's Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee for two years, and had volunteered to serve again this school year. Kim was a member of the Delta Youth Court Board of Directors, the Delta Junction Chamber of Commerce, and Delta Clearwater Moose Lodge 911. During his years here, he had also been active in the Delta Sportsmen's Association and the Delta Lions Club.

At the annual Alaska State School Bus Safety Road-e-0, Kim was always called upon to serve as an official, usually helping to "audit" the course used for driving skills. In January 2002 he was named branch manager for Alaska Motor Coaches/Laidlaw Transit, Inc., in Delta Junction. Kim enjoyed hunting, fishing and bowling. He was an avid and wellinformed bird watcher, and quite an accomplished artist.

Survivors include his twin sons, Sean and Ryan Purucker, and their mother, Rachelle Purucker, all of Delta Junction; his mother and father, Doris and Ervin Purucker of South Bend; one sister, Faye Krouse (Kevin) of Osceola, Ind.; and two brothers, Charles (Sharon) Purucker of Niceville, Fla., and James (Kimberly) Purucker of Indianapolis, Ind.

A funeral service was held Sunday, Aug. 11, in the First Baptist Church in Delta Junction. Interment was at Rest Haven Cemetery, Delta Junction. A memorial service will be held in Zion United Church of Christ, South Bend, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24. Memorial donations for Sean and Ryan may be sent to the Kim Purucker Memorial Fund, Sean and Ryan Purucker, PO Box 1136, Delta Junction, Alaska 99737.

Source: Newspapers.com

02/13/2025 EJS