Mark A. Purdy died August 17 in Ossining, N.Y. He was the son of the late Alan Bradford Purdy and Jean (Thompson) Purdy.

Born August 11, 1950 in Ossining, he was a graduate of Croton Harmon High School, class of 1968. He graduated from Hobart College in 1972 and following that was a graduate of Pace University’s Graduate School of Business.

After college, Mark set out on a journey with a fraternity brother, driving overland from Paris to Cape Town, crossing the Sahara desert in a Volkswagen microbus. Inspired by this adventure, he embarked upon a career working abroad in Africa, the Middle East and Asia which brought him to over 60 countries over the years.

He was married to Connie Doyle in September of 1981 and they honeymooned on Chappaquiddick. They had two children. The marriage later ended in divorce.

Beginning in the early 1980s and continuing into the mid 1990s he was a regular visitor to Chappaquiddick, where he had friends from his college days.

He is survived by a daughter, Alanna Hansen Purdy and a son, Bradford Wallace Purdy, both of Pound Ridge, N.Y. He is also survived by his mother Jean of Croton, his brother Craig of Croton and his brother Bradford of Camden, Me. He was predeceased by his brother Scott.

He will be remembered for his sense of humor, his generous spirit and readiness to spin tales of his adventures of days past.

Services will be private.