The act of donating blood is old hat to Dell Purdy, who has been doing so since 1949.
But more than a simple act, it’s an example of how members of Johnson-Phelps VFW Post 5220 in Oak Lawn still are providing service to their country and community.
The post recently held its annual LifeSource blood drive, a tradition stretching back at least 25 years, according to Post 5220 Cmdr. Dan Johnson.
Purdy, 86, a veteran of the Korean War and an active member of the post, has been donating blood there for at least the last 10 years, but gave blood for the first time in 1949, according to the post.
“The girl I was going with at the time had a sister who was having a baby, and she needed to have blood for her at the hospital in case something went wrong, so I donated for her,” Purdy said. “She wound up not needing it, but I was glad I could help.”
Since then, Purdy has donated blood more times than he can recall.
“They used to do a blood drive at our church (St. Paul Lutheran) in the ’60s and ’70s, and I would donate there every year,” said Purdy, who has lived in Oak Lawn since 1960.
Those blood drives eventually ended, but Purdy started donating again at the VFW at least a decade ago, he said, after becoming more involved in its weekly bingo night.
“My wife Ruth used to play bingo up here with some of the ladies and she told me they needed help, so I came up and started calling bingo for them,” he said.
Ruth died 12 years ago, at which point Purdy said he became even more involved at the post as “a way of getting out of the house.” He now runs the bingo night, helps out with parties and, of course, takes part in the blood drives.
This year, the VFW publicized the March 28 blood drive with local businesses and through social media to get more donors. It collected 53 pints of blood, more than 10 percent more than last year’s total, a result which greatly pleased Johnson.
“Jerry Lewis always said that if he could just make one more dollar during his telethon than last year he was happy,” Johnson said. “So I’m happy.”
Molloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.