Background
Purvis was born in Trochu, Alberta.
Purvis was born in Trochu, Alberta.
He moved with his family to Calgary and attended Western Canada High School there.
He later became owner of Waterloo Ford, a local car dealership that had been the sponsor of his medal-winning hockey team He was invited to join the Edmonton Mercurys when he was 19 years old, having played junior hockey for the Calgary Buffaloes. The Mercurys were sponsored by Waterloo Mercury, a local car dealership whose owner hired some of the team"s players to work for his firm.
Purvis, a defenceman was the team"s assistant captain.
Though better known for his checking skills, Purvis was a goal scorer. Two years later, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association selected the Mercurys from among seven teams that had applied to represent Canada at the 1952 Winter Olympics held in Oslo, based on the strength of team"s performance in the 1950 World Championships.
Nine countries competed in Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics, with each team playing each other once. After jumping out to a 2–0 lead, the Americans tied the score.
Donald Gauf scored to give the Canadians the lead, but the United States. tied it again at 3–3 with minutes left in the game.
Following the Olympic victory, Purvis went back to the dealership. He worked his way up the ladder in his 50 years at the firm, becoming sales manager and later the company"s owner and chief executive. Purvis died at age 80 on August 13, 2009, at his home in the Vancouver, British Columbia area due to heart disease.