David Purvis, Town business owner/leader, fondly remembered
Also a long-time Farragut resident, David passed away Sunday, Dec. 13, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“More than a dozen years ago, he helped form the group with the intention of helping Farragut become more business friendly,” Steve Krempasky, Shop Farragut/FBA executive director, said. “He was very important to the Town and very important to he business community.”
With a background in liquor and wine sales, David and his wife, Robin, were long-time co-owners of Farragut Wine & Spirits, which had been located in the old Kroger shopping center before closing in 2017.
Many friends and fellow business leaders paid tribute to David Monday, Dec. 14.
“The Town of Farragut lost a good man this week with the passing of David Purvis,” stated Phil Dangel, owner of The Shrimp Dock and a former colleague of David’s on FBA. “It was my pleasure to get to know David for many years, as we worked on a few committees together and helped form the Farragut Business Alliance ...
“Few people loved Farragut as much as David, and even fewer have worked as hard to improve the business climate in Farragut as David. ...
“My respect for David grew, as he was the type of person who spoke his mind — yes, he was outspoken, but his agenda was growing our mutual businesses in Farragut and improving the Town ...
“I will end where I began, We lost a good man this week.”
Mike Charland, a Knoxville business owner, met David as a Leadership Knoxville classmate in 2013.
“David was just one of those people who would truly light up a room when he walked in,” Charland said. “He was warm, caring and the kind of person who wanted to know what was going on in your life, and he was a joy to be around no matter what you were doing.”
Charland recalled when David was first diagnosed with the cancer that claimed his life, the Leadership class gathered at Zoo Knoxville “and prayed for him, and his family came. He loved bourbon, and we capped off the day by drinking a shot of bourbon in his honor.
“Our class was very close,” he added.
Charland said as much as David was a well-respected businessman and community leader, “the impact he had on his family” was his strongest legacy.
“He was truly loved and revered by his family.”
(See related Letter to Editor, page 4A)
