Pastor Reecior Mae Puryear

A celebration of the life of Pastor Reecior Mae Puryear, age 91, of Newark, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 8, at the Bethel Rock House of Prayer, 219 East Main Street in Newark, with Elder William Marty and Minister Anita Laughery officiating. Burial will follow in Newark Memorial Gardens.

Friends may call from 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. on Friday, March 7, at Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home, 179 Granville Street in Newark.

Reecior was born July 24, 1933 in Monroe County, Alabama, to the late Richard Riley, Sr. and the late Marie (Galleroy) Riley. She passed away on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at Licking Memorial Hospital.

Pastor Puryear was a beloved member of the Newark community. In October of 1984, in response to a vision that she said she had received from God, God told her, "Don't keep my people waiting and get organized." Reecior founded the Bethel Rock House of Prayer Church and was Pastor there for over 40 years. She was a caregiver to many and ministered at area nursing homes, Licking Memorial Hospital, and was active with the Madison Correctional Facility and the Licking County Jail Ministry. For many years she was a domestic engineer and was a foster mother who mentored many.

She tirelessly sought "a more excellent way" in how she did things as a wife, mother, Pastor and friend. She encouraged everyone to "seek God for yourself". She looked out for the 'underdog', believed in them and spoke life into them. She was a trailblazer, was one of a kind, and when you had Pastor as a friend you had a friend indeed.

She is survived by her daughter, Marilyn “Ann” Puryear; grandchildren, Reecior Denae Brooks, Nicholas M. Wells, Jeremy M. (Joann) Puryear, Ebony Wells (Marlo Shaw), and Andrea Puryear; many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Diane Puryear; special great-nieces, Stacy Williams and Quintrilla Moore; brother, Bishop Richard Riley, Jr.; sisters, Agnes Kirskey, Betty Sims, Pastor Earnestine Riley-Shepherd, and Evangelist Shirley Hall; and a host of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Albert M. Puryear; son, Andrew Puryear; daughter and son-in-law, Dorothy Marie and Nicholas Wells; sisters, Mary Jefferson and Mother Lula Packer; and brothers, Leslie Riley and Deacon Percy Riley.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bethel Rock House of Prayer, 69 Fleek Avenue, Newark, OH 43055.

Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home is honored to care for Pastor Puryear and her family.