Juanita Purvis Shacklett March 8, 1917 — Oct. 14, 2020 Juanita Bohannon Purvis Shacklett, born March 8, 1917, passed away peacefully at her home in Davis on Oct. 14 at the age of 103 1/2. Juanita’s beautiful smile and generous heart were beacons of warmth to all who knew her and she remained lucid and vivacious until the end of her life. Juanita was born in Kentucky on March 8, 1917, the eldest child of Cleo Purvis and his wife Lily Bohannon Purvis. As a young woman, she graduated from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., and subsequently earned a master’s degree from Lexington Theological Seminary. She served as an editor of children’s publications in St. Louis, Mo., before moving to New York, N.Y., in 1955 to become a writer and editor of children’s publications at Friendship Press. In 1958, she married Dr. Comer D. Shacklett, a research chemist at E.I. duPont de Nemours, Inc.