Early Life
Johnny Purvis was born to John and Emma Jo Purvis in 1942. His father gave his life in the service of his country on February 20, 1945 with the U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima in World War II. His mother was devastated, and it seemed to have an effect on Johnny, who had physical problems of his own. At six years old, he would cry and become terrified to go to school and hold his mother. At school, he always sat near the teacher, and if fights broke out between students at school he would cry or do his best to avoid them.
As he grew up, he could not keep up with his peers academically and his relationships with girls was shaky at best. A doctor diagnosed him with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia. He would spend his time watching television or eating out with his mother and stepbrother Mike Bartlett. Occasionally, Johnny would suffer panic attacks. He was known for his unusual behavior.
Read more about this topic: John Gordon Purvis
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“I looked at my daughters, and my boyhood picture, and appreciated the gift of parenthood, at that moment, more than any other gift I have ever been given. For what person, except one’s own children, would want so deeply and sincerely to have shared your childhood? Who else would think your insignificant and petty life so precious in the living, so rich in its expressiveness, that it would be worth partaking of what you were, to understand what you are?”
—Gerald Early (20th century)
“Show me a character whose life arouses my curiosity, and my flesh begins crawling with suspense.”
—Fawn M. Brodie (1915–1981)