Bob and Frances Puryear Physical Therapy Scholarship

Bob and Frances (Berkshire) Puryear and their families were long-time residents of Jonesboro, and were active in several charity, civic, and business activities. The Bob and Frances Puryear Physical Therapy Scholarship was established in honor and in memory of Bob and Frances Puryear by their three surviving children, families and friends. Bob and Frances Puryear helped found the original John T. Gray School for children and adults with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities; the school was renamed and is now known as The Learning Center of Northeast Arkansas, located on Fox Meadow Lane in Jonesboro. Bob and Frances were members of a committee which incorporated United Cerebral Palsy of Northeast Arkansas in 1972 as an affiliate of the national UCP organization. Their passion for establishing the school and incorporating the United Cerebral Palsy of Northeast Arkansas as an UCP organization affiliate stems from their son, David, who was born in 1953 with cerebral palsy. The Puryear’s refused to allow their son to be institutionalized because of David’s severe disability and they continued to care for him until David’s death in 1983. Bob Puryear died in 1977 and Frances Puryear died in 2003. Their son, Mr. Robert (Bobby) Puryear, who was married to Mrs. Sandra Puryear, passed away in 2023.