PM Mitchell honors Dr. Roland Purcell at packed funeral

Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell eulogized “The People’s Doctor,” Roland Purcell, on Saturday, April 11. The massive funeral service was held at The Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, at Flatlands Avenue and Rockaway Avenue in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

Dr. Purcell, a distinguished surgeon based in Brooklyn, New York, passed away suddenly on March 25 at the age of 73.

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Cheryl Vincent, a Grenadian-born registered nurse at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and University Hospital in Brooklyn, was honored with Dr. Purcell in 2016 for their “extensive” community work. Vincent told Caribbean Life that Dr. Purcell died from a “cardiac issue.”

Hundreds of Grenadian and Caribbean nationals, and other nationals, jammed the pews at the huge church to pay their last respects to Dr. Purcell.
Besides Prime Minister Mitchell, Grenada Governor General Dame Cecile LaGrenade and local elected officials, such as New York State Assembly Members Jaime Williams and Monique Chandler-Waterman, and New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, attended the funeral service.

Dame Cecile offered a scripture reading, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 and 42-22, during the service, which was presided over by Fr. Alonzo Cox.
Quake USA Cultural Organization, a liturgical folk group based in Brooklyn with origins in Grenada, paid musical tributes to Dr. Purcell. Vincent is a founding member and one of the musical directors of the group.

“Thank you for sharing, Dr. Purcell,” said Prime Mitchell, speaking extemporaneously, “Dr. Purcell left Grenada when I was only 3 years old.
“Grenada simply says, ‘If it wasn’t for Dr. Purcell… I don’t know what would have happened to me,” he added. “His willingness to go beyond the call of duty, and to assure you, is a story.”

“He wrote his eulogy,” Mitchell disclosed. “He understood that success was about community.
“We celebrate his life; we celebrate his legacy; we hold him with a deep, abiding admiration – his counsel, his duty to public service,” the Grenadian leader continued. “On behalf of the people of Grenada, we say thank you for allowing me, individually and collectively. May his soul rest in peace! Let’s try to be more or less selfish and more selfless.”

In delivering the eulogy, Kevin Purcell, one of Dr. Purcell’s sons and himself a physician, described how his father graduated from medical school in 1973 at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica, marking the start of his long medical career.

Afterward, Kevin said his father completed an internship at Port-of-Spain General Hospital in Trinidad before returning home to Grenada, where he worked at St. George’s General Hospital until 1980.

In the same year, Kevin said his dad began a general surgery residency at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, now Interfaith Medical Center.
Following residency, Kevin said Dr. Purcell pursued a vascular surgery fellowship at Texas Heart Institute under the tutelage of world-renowned Dr. Denton Cooley, who performed the first artificial heart transplant.

After his fellowship, Kevin said Dr. Purcell returned to Brooklyn to practice medicine. He provided comprehensive care to thousands of people from around the world, especially in the Caribbean, and educated countless healthcare providers.

“Dr. Purcell was a fearless surgeon blessed with gifted hands,” Kevin said. “Surgery was his passion, and his patients were his precious gems. He treated everyone with love, respect, compassion, and dignity, regardless of their race, economic status, sexual orientation, or insurance coverage.

“At his core, Dr. Purcell believed in holistic cure, committing to healing not only the body but the mind and soul, as well,” he added. “He viewed his patients not as cases but as whole people – mothers and fathers, grandparents and children, neighbors and friends. He listened first, and when he spoke, it was with compassion, empathy, and hope.”
Kevin said his father spent over 45 years at Interfaith Medical Center.

“And, in doing so, he became far more than a surgeon; he became a mentor, a leader, and a guiding force for many,” he said. “Those who trained under him often speak not just of the advanced surgical skills he taught but also of the patience, wisdom, and life lessons he shared along the way.”

Kevin said Dr. Purcell was born on Sept. 22, 1952, in Curacao in the Dutch Antilles, the son of Grenadian Ermyntrude and Francis Purcell. The family returned to Grenada in 1959, Kevin said.

He said Dr. Purcell’s late parents had instilled in him “a deep sense of family, faith, and service – values that would shape every chapter of his life.
“He lived by the saying his mother often repeated: ‘To whom much is given, much is expected,’” Kevin said.
A vigil service was held the day before at the same church during which glowing tributes were paid to Dr. Purcell.

Among those listed in the funeral program as paying tributes were: Children, Dr. Kevin and Karl Purcell, Esq.; sisters, Dr. Sherill and Frances Purcell; Drs. Albert Cooper, Dinker Rai, Leon Shein and Robbie Short (boyhood friend); Chester Humphrey (boyhood friend, virtually); Interfaith Medical Center staff; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Former Grenada Foreign Affairs Minister Peter David (friend); Victor Ashby, retired principal, Grenada Boys Secondary School; Marise La Grenade-Lashley (cousin); Roziel Raeburn; Rae Crawford; and Sabina Pitt (musical tribute, “Jesus is Love”, by The Commodores).

Besides sons Kevin and Karl Purcell and countless relatives, friends, and colleagues, Dr. Purcell is survived by another son, Kester Purcell, who recently completed a bachelor’s degree in informatics/cybersecurity, according to the funeral program.
Dr. Purcell’s body was entombed at Canarsie Cemetery on Saturday.