Mary Avis Murphy, 88, died June 30, 2005, at her home at Meadowbrook Place in Baker City.
Her memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church, 1995 Fourth St. Pastor Susan Barnes will officiate.
Mary was born on April 22, 1917, at Trafford, Pa., to John and Edith Morgan Piper. She attended school at Trafford and graduated from high school there.
She married Robert E. Murphy in Washington, D.C., in December 1941. They moved around with the military and settled near Mount Vernon, Va., where their two children were raised.
Robert’s work for United Airlines took them from Virginia to San Jose, Calif., until 1991 when they moved to La Grande. Mary moved to Baker City to be near her daughter in 2004.
Mary worked for the U.S. Postal Service for a while. As an active mother, she worked with the Brownies. She enjoyed arts and crafts, history, her owl collection and lunches and shopping trips with her friends. She loved to travel and especially loved her cats.
Mary was a member of the Presbyterian Church and Order of Eastern Star.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert E. Murphy on Nov. 15, 1997; her parents; and three brothers.
Survivors include her daughter, Cindy Vergari of Baker City; her son, Robert Murphy of Dumfries, Va.; her grandchildren, Peter and Tessa Vergari of Baker City; her sisters and brothers-in-law, Betty and Quentin Proctor of Mount Jackson, Va., and Nancy and Paul Woodall of Mesa, Ariz.; and numerous other relatives and friends.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 8, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor