William B. Purtell, Jr., 77, of Bristol, Rhode Island, died Wednesday, Jan. 25 after a long illness. He was the husband of the late Jane (Hinton) Allen Purtell.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, son of the late William and Marion (Hammond) Purtell, he lived in Fairhaven for most of his life.

He served his country in both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and later worked for the Department of Defense for 25 years until his retirement. In retirement, he assisted his wife in real estate services for many years.

William was a graduate of Fairhaven High School, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he received both his Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Master's Degree in Business Administration, Army Management Staff College, National Defense University, and San Francisco Technical University, where he received his Doctorate in Business Administration.

He is survived by three sons, Scott Purtell of Mansfield, Timothy Purtell and his wife Kristen of Melbourne, Florida, and James Purtell and his wife Colleen of Somerset; his former wife, Patricia (Burton) Purtell; a brother, Sergio Purtell and his wife Melanie of Brooklyn, New York; nine grandchildren, Jillian, Kaylee, Brayden, Emma, Max, Evan, Summer, Nathan, and Mackenzie; two stepchildren, Jason Allen of Klawock, Alaska, and Jonay Zeis and her husband David of Cary, North Carolina; and a step-granddaughter, Stella.

He was predeceased by his son, William J. Purtell.

His funeral service will be held on Friday, Feb. 3 at 11 a.m. in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd., Rt. 6, Mattapoisett. A private family burial will follow in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting hours will be Thursday, Feb. 2 from 5-7 p.m. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.