Adam K. Purcell

Adam Purcell, 37, of Hanover PA passed away on Friday, August 28 2026 at the Dove House in Westminster. He was the son of Keith and Susan Purcell. He grew up in the Westminster area, and graduated from Winters Mill High School in 2007.

Adam is survived by his mom (Susan Purcell) and dad (Keith Purcell), sister (Kelly Bean), brother-in-law (Travis Bean), a nephew and a niece, his nana (Sandra Peterson), and multiple aunts, uncle, and cousins.

Adam fell in love with soccer at a young age, and played rec, travel, and club soccer until eventually playing at the varsity level at Winters Mill High School. Adam’s parents taught him to snow ski at a young age. He has skied all over the states with family and friends. His favorite was skiing through the trees at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. His last ski trip with his parents was to Stratton Vermont just 2 months before the cancer diagnosis.

Adam loved the water, and was an avid water skier. He could slalom ski by age 8. Adam also could kneeboard, wakeboard, wake surf, and trick ski. 

Another of Adam’s hobbies/pastimes was hiking. When he could find time, he would hike with family and friends. Some of his favorites included Acadia National Park, Maine; Shenandoah National Park, Virginia; and the Smokies in North Carolina.

He owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and loved to ride.

Adam also had a love of guns, owned several pistols and rifles, and spent lots of time on the gun range. He was also an NRA member. 

He loved skydiving, and had jumped many times. 

Post cancer diagnosis, Adam was still able to spend time riding bikes and kayaking with family and friends.

Somehow with all of the above going on in his life, he was able to find time to work out and lift weights at the gym several times each week. Adam’s work history could best be described as an odyssey. One year at community college where he discovered that academia was not his thing, led to a year at diesel tech school. After graduating the tech school, he figured out that being a mechanic was not for him. For the next several years he worked as an electrician’s helper while completing the electrical apprenticeship program at Carroll Community College. He worked for various local electrical companies, including a solar company, a conveyer systems company, and in the electrical department at Random House in Westminster. While he couldn’t seem to find the right job fit, Adam knew that he wanted to be in the electrical field. In 2018, Adam applied to Baltimore Gas and Electric, and was put in their program to become a class “A “electrician and lineman. As a teenager, Adam was afraid of heights, but once lineman training began, he fell in love with climbing the poles. He finally found a career that was perfect and loved working with his BGE buddies. It was on the job where the 1 st seizure hit, signaling that something was wrong. The crew took care of him that day, and continued to support him till the end. 

Adam was a member of I.B.E.W. Local 410.

Following cremation, a memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, September 5, 2026 at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 32 W Baltimore St, Taneytown, MD 21787. A vistation will be held from 9:30-11 AM. Burial will be held privately. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Dove House in Westminster, St Judes Children’s hospital, or the Glioblastoma Foundation.