SLS 17RS-976 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 75
BY SENATOR MARTINY
SENATE. Expresses condolences upon the death of G. Frank Purvis.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
3 death of G. Frank Purvis.
4 WHEREAS, G. Frank Purvis died on April 20, 2017, at the age of one hundred two
5 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, having lived a very productive and satisfying life;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Mr. Purvis was born to G. Frank Purvis and Mamie Wumble Purvis on
8 November 22, 1914, in Rayville, Louisiana; and
9 WHEREAS, Frank Purvis attended elementary school in Rayville and then Kemper
10 Military Academy, where he finished first in his class; and
11 WHEREAS, in 1935, Mr. Purvis received his law degree from Louisiana State
12 University Law School at the tender age of twenty; and
13 WHEREAS, while in law school, Frank Purvis was awarded the Order of the Coif
14 for finishing in the top ten percent of his class, and he was in Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, Mr. Purvis moved home to Rayville and began his practice of law and
17 he held several appointed positions in state government, including legal counsel for the
18 Louisiana Secretary of State, was Ex Officio Insurance commissioner and special assistant
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SLS 17RS-976 ORIGINAL
1 to the Louisiana Attorney General; and
2 WHEREAS, prior to the United States entering World War II, Frank Purvis
3 volunteered to serve in the United States Navy in August 1941 and was called to active duty
4 following the devastating Japanese attack on the Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on
5 December 7, 1941; and
6 WHEREAS, after an assignment at Northwestern University, Mr. Purvis requested
7 sea duty and served as an anti-submarine officer on active service in both the Atlantic and
8 the Pacific theaters of war; and
9 WHEREAS, upon returning from his service in World War II, Frank Purvis was
10 appointed deputy Louisiana Insurance Commissioner followed by serving as special assistant
11 Attorney General, in which positions he was responsible for drafting the Louisiana Insurance
12 Code, which was adopted in 1948, and also assisted in drafting the insurance law for Puerto
13 Rico, a United States territory at the time; and
14 WHEREAS, in 1949 Mr. Purvis joined Pan-American Life Insurance Company as
15 assistant general counsel, held several other posts in the company and in 1964 he was
16 promoted to president and chief executive officer, becoming the first Louisiana-born
17 president of that company, later being named chairman of the board and remaining on the
18 board until 2008; and
19 WHEREAS, the Pan-American Life Building and the Intercontinental Hotel, both
20 in New Orleans, Louisiana, were constructed during his leadership and remain monuments
21 to Frank Purvis' legacy at Pan-American Life; and
22 WHEREAS, while at Pan-American, Mr. Purvis was chair of the largest association
23 of life insurance companies in the United States as well as the largest health insurance
24 organization; and
25 WHEREAS, Mr. Purvis served on a number of boards during his life, including chair
26 of the Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans, the board of the New Orleans
27 Chamber of Commerce, as well as a member of the Chamber, and the board of the
28 Tuberculosis Association of New Orleans; and
29 WHEREAS, Frank Purvis served as president of the New Orleans Federation of
30 Churches, the Young Men's Christian Association, and the Council for a Better Louisiana;
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SLS 17RS-976 ORIGINAL
1 and
2 WHEREAS, as a great champion of higher education, Frank Purvis received the
3 extraordinary honor of having a chair at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette endowed
4 and named the "G. Frank Purvis Endowed Chair in Insurance and Risk Management" which
5 was established in the academic year 1996-1997, and he served on the Louisiana State
6 University Board of Supervisors and on Loyola University of New Orleans Board of
7 Trustees; and
8 WHEREAS, with extensive work in academia, Mr. Purvis served as a professor of
9 law at Louisiana State University Law School, for a number of years he taught insurance law
10 at Tulane's University College; he received the prestigious Integritas Vitae Award in 1991
11 from Loyola University of New Orleans, and was honored by the United Teachers of New
12 Orleans as Man of the Year; and
13 WHEREAS, Frank Purvis also received the Order of Balboa from the president of
14 the Republic of Panama and a special honor from Pope John Paul II; and
15 WHEREAS, Mr. Purvis enjoyed playing golf and gin rummy and was a member of
16 various social clubs in New Orleans; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Purvis was preceded in death by his first wife, Winston Wendt
18 Purvis, and one daughter, Virginia Purvis; he is survived by his daughter Winston Wendt
19 Purvis, son G. Frank Purvis, and second wife Helen Purvis, as well as numerous
20 grandchildren, nieces, nephews, stepchildren, and step-grandchildren; and
21 WHEREAS, G. Frank Purvis was a World War II veteran, a loving and caring family
22 man, an accomplished attorney and businessman, a religious man, a friend to academia, and
23 a man of extensive public accomplishments who lived a long and successful life and has left
24 many to treasure their memories of him.
25 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
26 does hereby express sincere condolences upon the death of G. Frank Purvis.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
28 Helen N. Purvis of New Orleans.
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SLS 17RS-976 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
SR 75 Original 2017 Regular Session Martiny
Expresses condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of G.
Frank Purvis.
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