For immediate release                                                 November 4, 2003  Contact: Kenneth Johnson Chief Development Officer 312-385-2040 kjohnson@adasmckinley.org Former Ada S. McKinley Community Services’ Educational Advocate Dies Placed over 50,000 kids in colleges   Silas Purnell, nationally renowned crusader of advancing the education of inner-city children died at home in his sleep Saturday evening. He was 80.   Mr. Purnell believed that every inner-city child deserved the chance to go to college and should not be inhibited by the lack of money.  It was this conviction that led him to quit his job in the ‘60s as a marketing manager with the Coca Cola Co. and start a nationally acclaimed college preparation and placement program at Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc.  Mr. Purnell retired in 2000.   “Silas is known throughout the United States for the tremendous work he has done in helping disadvantaged inner-city children attain a higher education,” said George Jones Jr., executive director of Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc.    More than 50,000 inner-city youth were placed through the program in over 200 colleges and universities throughout the United States. The program originally operated out of the Dearborn public housing complex for 34 years and is financed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Talent Search Program. In 1967 Mr. Purnell was approached by Ralph Burlingham, former executive director of Ada S. McKinley Community Services to start the program.  At the time, the agency had limited funds – a $47,000 budget.  So, he worked without pay for the first year.   It was his tenacious spirit and drive that led him to crisscross the states, cultivating university contacts and tracking colleges that offered financial aid for minority students.  Scholarships and grants were secured for students with low grade point averages who were willing to take remedial summer classes or be tutored in order to be prepared for the rigorous demands of college.  The assistance did not stop there: If a student did not have a way to get to school, Mr. Purnell made sure they got there—even if it meant driving them himself.       Known for his straightforwardness, Mr. Purnell would approach youth on the street, in a store stocking or bagging groceries or working behind the counters at fast food restaurants and ask what they planned to do with the rest of their life.  After chastising them in his booming voice, he would tell them to come to his office so he could get them in school.  Many did and today have completed undergraduate, graduate, doctorate, medical and law degrees across the nation.  Local Talent Search graduates include Illinois State Representative (D-32) Charles G. Morrow III, noted Chicago Sun-Times columnist and The Chicago Reporter editor and publisher Laura S. Washington, WLS-TV Channel 7 anchor Cheryl Burton, attorneys Andre Grant and Stanley L. Hill (Ada S. McKinley board member), Dr. Diedrus Brown-Underwood, and Dr. Constance Shabazz, medical director at Aunt Martha’s Health Center.   Among the many awards bestowed upon Mr. Purnell during his lifetime included honorary degrees from Illinois Wesleyan, Chicago State University and the Illinois Institute of Technology.  He accomplished many things, the greatest one being empowering students with the benefits of a good education.    Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Marilyn; three daughters, Rosalind, Rolinda and Donna; two sons, Ronald (Therese) and Silas Jr. (deceased); one sister, June Phillips; a brother, Morris (Eva); and sister-in-law, Leona.   The repast will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at Trinity United Church, 400 W. 95th Street followed by a memorial service.  Instead of flowers, the family has requested monetary contributions be made to The Silas Purnell Scholarship Fund at the Illinois Institute of Technology.   # # #