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