John Alexander Purdie died peacefully Saturday, July 21, 2007, following several years of declining health. He was born in Fayetteville on Oct. 27, 1919, to Agnes Malloy Purdie and John Alexander Purdie. He graduated from Fayetteville Senior High School in 1936, serving as class president, and from Davidson College in 1941. He served in the Army in World War II and in the Korean War. After several years in the insurance business, he returned to Fayetteville in 1950 and joined his mother and stepfather, Arthur K. McCallum, in their boating and fishing business, A.K. McCallum Co., retiring in 2002. He was a longtime member and admirer of First Presbyterian Church, joining while in high school when he wasn