Jean "Gina" Purtill Wenrich

Jean “Gina” Purtill Wenrich (nee Pampena), a much-loved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, age 96, of Kent, Ohio, passed peacefully into the presence of her Heavenly Father on Thursday, November 27, 2025.

Born in Italy on November 10, 1929, she lived in the small town of Spigno Saturnia in the province of Latina until age nine, when she traveled to America in 1939 with her father to visit her older sister, Lina, and brother-in-law in New York. The outbreak of the Second World War prevented them from returning to her mother, sister, Adelaide, and younger brother, Anthony, in Italy. Separated by war, Jean began her life in America speaking only Italian. The family was joyfully reunited in 1947.

Jean graduated from Memorial High School in West New York, New Jersey, where she met her first love and husband, attorney James L. Purtill II. Voted “Senior Class Sweethearts,” they married in 1952 and moved to the University of Toledo campus while he completed his studies. A devoted homemaker, she relocated with her husband and their two children to Kent in 1961 as he continued his legal career. A Kentite for 65 years, she raised their now three children and did so with strength and grace after her husband’s sudden passing in 1976.

Love found her again when Jean married the late Robert E. Wenrich in 1983. They made their home in Twin Lakes, later spending winters in Punta Gorda, Florida, and traveling the world together until his passing in 2015.

In her younger years, she moved comfortably within the social circles of Kent, engaging warmly with community members and forming friendships that endured for decades. Throughout her life, she remained a woman of compassion, offering sympathy, support, and steadfast loyalty in a world that too often falls short of such qualities. She enjoyed a variety of pursuits, tennis, golf, cooking/entertaining, gardening, painting, sewing, quilting, knitting, and especially the camaraderie of card games, where her talent earned her a reputation as something of a card shark. A devoted Catholic, she held firmly to her traditional values, which guided her life with quiet conviction. Above all, her world revolved around her family, who stood first in her heart. Her three children were the recipients of her unwavering encouragement, devotion, and love.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Pasquale and Anna (Santilli) Pampena; her first husband of almost 25 years, James L. Purtill II; her second husband of 32 years, Robert E. Wenrich; her younger brother, Anthony Pampena, and her older sister, Lina Giarnella. She leaves behind treasured older sister, Adelaide Orgera, of Toronto, Canada; her beloved daughter, Carleen Lostoski (Daniel); two sons, “her boys,” James L. Purtill III and Dr. Matthew Purtill; cherished grandchildren, Leanna Lostoski-Ho (Patrick Ho), Joseph Lostoski (Rachelmary), and Jack Lostoski; great-granddaughter Cecilia Lostoski; multiple nieces and nephews; over the years, several AFS foreign exchange students from around the world referred to her as their American Nonna, with one whom she considered her Austrian grandson, David Petutschnig; and dear friends, too numerous to name. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who respectfully and tenderly cared for her in her final years. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered.

The family will receive friends on Friday, December 5, 2025 at Bissler & Sons Funeral Home, 628 West Main St, Kent, OH 44240, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 313 North DePeyster St, Kent, OH 44240. Interment will follow at Standing Rock Cemetery, 1361 North Mantua St, Kent, OH 44240.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Kent, Ohio.

Services in the care of Bissler and Sons Funeral Home, 628 W. Main St. Kent, OH 44240.