Marilynn Purdie, age 82, died peacefully at her home on the farm she loved on Friday, August 2, 2019.  Her memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2019 at McKibben and Guinn Funeral Service at 4817 Commerce Street in Grenada, with a visitation period beginning at 10 a.m. and the service at 11:00 a.m.

Marilynn was born on the family farm north of Grenada on July 9, 1937. After attending school at Hardy School and then finishing at Grenada, she earned a B. A. degree from then Delta State College, a Masters' Degree from the University of Alabama and a Ph. D.  in Education and School Administration from Mississippi State University.  For some 30 years, she made her home in Starkville, working on the campus of Mississippi State University for the Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service and serving as the associate director of the Extension Service.

During her career she traveled all over the State, making many life-long friends in a number of counties through her work with the local State Extension Homemaker Clubs. In 1972, with the help of others in the Extension Service, Marilynn helped to collect, preserve and make available some 1,200 of the favorite recipes of fine cooks throughout Mississippi which were compiled into The Mississippi Cookbook , which has been updated and revised several times and is still available online and in book stores today.

Marilynn not only loved her work but also loved Mississippi State and was an unwavering, life-long Bulldog fan.  When you saw her after a Bulldog victory on Saturday, there was a big smile on her face as she would say …"What about those Bulldogs?"  And, when they lost, well, it was just best not to talk to her.

In 1979 Dr. Purdie was chosen as outstanding Extension Worker in Mississippi. In 1982, Grenada honored Marilynn with 'Marilynn Purdie Day', and then-Mayor Chuck Thomas awarded Marilynn the "Key to the City".   Her family and many friends celebrated this special day with her.

In 1989, Marilynn retired and built a home on the farm where she was born and raised.  For some 20 years after, she lived out her dream on the farm she loved so much.  In partnership with her brother-in-law, Gerald Carpenter, they converted this 170-year-old cotton farm into a pristine cattle farm, raising and caring for as many as 100 head of cattle.   Once she was asked, "Do you regret retiring in Grenada and raising cattle for all these years?"  She replied, "Not one day do I regret it."   As she once said, "You just haven't lived until you have tended to a herd of cattle,"...and as strange as it might seem, she meant it.

She loved not only tending her cows but caring for all animals, and her homeplace became a refuge for dogs and cats who were thrown away on the side of the road by their owners. She took them all, and they became the luckiest dogs and cats on earth, sharing life with her on the farm.

Marilynn loved her family and was generous to them beyond measure.  Her kindness often extended beyond the immediate family, to her friends and to those she did not even know but felt were in need.

Marilynn was preceded in death by her mother and father, Thelma Elizabeth (Mitchell) Purdie and James Maddox Purdie, Sr. and several aunts and uncles. She is survived by two sisters, Ruth Purdie Carpenter and Jamie Purdie Rogers, both of Grenada; two brothers, Alan Mitchell Purdie of Madison, and James Maddox Purdie, Jr of Clinton; and 11 nieces and nephews and several beloved first cousins.

The family would like to thank the wonderful professionals with Legacy Hospice for their excellent, compassionate care and assistance during Marilynn's last illness, along with her faithful, loving daily care-givers, Eupora Hankins, Linda Willis, Shirley Brown, and Wynona Holdeman. We love you and will never forget what you did for Marilynn.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr.  Marilynn Purdie Endowment Scholarship Fund through the MSU Foundation; St Jude's Childrens' Hospital or to All Heart Animal Rescue at allheartanimalrescue.org.