2002 NEWS & OBSERVER FILE PHOTO
Earle Purser, left, conducted a monthly church service with homeless people he allowed to camp on his land in Garner. Purser became a certified Presbyterian lay minister when he was in his 80s.
RALEIGH -- Earle Purser could cut to the front of a long line in the Wake County courthouse - a hub of the community's trials, tribulations and heated exchanges - and no one would utter an angry word.
The courtly lawyer, known tomany as "Mr. P," courted a legion of admirers in his six decades of practicing law, not only for his actions in the courtroom, but for tipping his hat to a fellow gent, kissing the hands of women in his midst and spinning a rich yarn.
Purser, 90, died Wednesday after a brief period of declining health, leaving a county enriched through his championing of its people - the big and small, the struggling and well-to-do - to mourn a great loss and share a few stories of their own.
"He was a consummate Southern gentleman," said Paul Gessner, a Wake County Superior Court judge who counted Purser among his friends and mentors. "He was witty. He was charming. He was a lot of fun to be around."
Purser, who in his last couple of years used a scooter to get from his Hargett Street office to the courthouse, was a downtown character who threw out such lines as "You're not old enough to tote matches" or "He's as tired as a Johnston County dog" along his way. Many people would call out to him as he zipped along crowded sidewalks.
"I'm just fine," was his standard response to all who inquired about his well-being.
Purser was born in Union County and made his way to Wake County as a college and law student at Wake Forest, when the school was still in Wake Forest. He did a stint in the Army during World War II and was stationed in Guadalcanal, an assignment that provided him a wealth of stories to last a lifetime.
He graduated from Wake Forest law school in 1950 and began practicing that year. He did not slow down until April, when health issues kept him out of the courthouse.
He never had a computer in his office and never used a cellphone, said Rhonda Clark, his assistant for the past 25 years. But that did not stop him from practicing a profession that suited his warm and scholarly personality.
"He just loved being around people," Clark said. "That's why he did this."
Prosecutors and defense lawyers had kind words.
Judges recounted him summoning them to friendly meetings.
"Earle was sort of an icon," District Attorney Colon Willoughby said.
"He's just one of the good old guys," added Howard Cummings, Wake County's chief assistant district attorney.
Robert McMillan, a Raleigh lawyer who met Purser in college, said his longtime friend had a soft spot for people in need.
"He helped many, many people," McMillan said.
When he was in his 80s, Purser became a lay minister and put on a top hat and dark coat at least once a month to preach to the homeless war veterans and others he let set up camp in the woods behind his Garner home.
Purser was a scholar who spoke two languages and who also enjoyed the simplicity of small-town life. He and his wife were devoted Garner High School football fans. He was an active member of Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church, and he enjoyed gardening and being outside.
He also was a big practical jokester who had this to say about himself: "You see, they think I'm old and they think I don't know what's going on. They think that they need to take it easy on me. They let me cut to the front of the line. That's fine, take it easy on me. There is something about 60 years of practicing law that is hard to beat. My mind is not as sharp as it once was, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
