Jane Agnes Purdy Smythe

Jane Agnes Purdy Smythe passed away peacefully on February 25, 2021 at the age of 85. She was born on June 21, 1935 in Pascagoula, MS to Ivon Johnson Purdy and Joseph William Purdy. She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings Mitzi Hinman, Mary Christensen, Joseph Purdy, Donald “Dink” Purdy, Ann Chapman, and Sue Frank, her daughter Jennifer Smythe DeGraw and her beloved husband of 40 years, William Wayne Smythe Sr. She was a talented artist and singer. She and her sisters sang professionally as the Purdy Sisters in the fifties, and she continued to do singing gigs on occasion over the next two decades. Jane met her husband Wayne at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula where they were both employed as draftsmen. After their marriage, they moved to the New Orleans area and settled at Nine Mile Point where they raised five children. In the early eighties, Wayne and Jane retired to the Bahamas to live on their sailboat the “Lazy Lady” until Wayne’s death in 1994. Jane and her brother Dink persevered in 5’ of water in her home in Pascagoula during Hurricane Katrina, after which she eventually moved back to the New Orleans area to be near her children. She is survived by her children Angela Glasoe (Jerry), William Wayne Smythe Jr., Marjorie Barrois (Lawrence) and Elizabeth Lejeune (Ruston), her grandchildren Bridget Mulvenna (Bryan), Donald Bourg Jr. (April), Andrew Glasoe (Jenny), Kevin Glasoe (Jodi), Mark Smythe (Lindsey), Amanda Barrois, Lauren Barrois, Sara Weiland (Jason), Jessica Lejeune Shambra (John) and Casey Lejeune, her great grandchildren Jack, Bryce and Trey Watson, Sydney and Carter Bourg, Oliver Glasoe, Hunter Glasoe, Hannah, Gabriel and Isaiah Smythe, Ander and Carter Weiland, and Lucas and Reagan Shambra and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the entire staff of Belle Vie Living Center/Park Place Healthcare for their loving and compassionate care. Private memorial service to be held at a later date. MOTHE FUNERAL HOME is assisting the family during this difficult time. Family and friends may offer condolences at mothefunerals.com.