Loie Murray Obituary (1926 - 2018)

Our beloved mother, grandmother, sister and friend, Loie Jean Heaton Murray, age 91, left this mortal life on April 12, 2018 in Cedar City, Utah. Loie Jean was born September 13, 1926, in her Grandmother Bunting’s home, in St. George Utah. She was the first child and only daughter of Glen and Nina Bunting Heaton. She cherished her childhood memories and her close relationships with her Aunt LaBerta, who was like a sister to her, and her Aunts Ollie and Norma who were like second mothers. While in junior high Loie Jean came down with a grave illness forcing her to miss an entire year of school. After being restored to health by the power of the priesthood she was able to rejoin her class and graduate from Cedar High in 1944. Her first job was at the short-order counter in the local drug store where she met Fred Murray. He was a handsome soldier sent from Grenada, Mississippi to Cedar City as a drill instructor for the Army Air Corp cadet training program during the Second World War. They were married on September 6, 1944 in her mother’s home that would later become theirs, on Main Street Cedar City. Loie Jean had a testimony of our Savior and a strong desire to serve others. Living on Main Street, she encountered a variety of travelers. She always did whatever she could to help, giving passersby food to eat and clothes to wear. She had a special place in her heart for children. She was a gifted teacher and taught many Cedar City youth to read and write while employed as a teacher’s aide in the local schools. She was a life-long learner, always taking up new hobbies and studying different subjects-especially gospel topics. Loie Jean gave freely of her time to many organizations including the American Legion Auxiliary, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, the Shakespeare Festival, 4-H, Pink Ladies/Candy Stripers, the Republican Party and Boy Scouts of America which honored her with the “Second Miler Award.” She served in many auxiliaries in the LDS church but loved leading the music most. Loie Jean was the personification of perseverance and unconditional love. When her husband died at the young age of 52 she was left to care for her younger children and provide for the family; she rose to the occasion. Upon the death of her mother, just a few years later, she became the care taker of her younger brother Raymond whom is mentally and physically handicapped. She had mountains of patience while living with and caring for Raymond. Even through the trails of aging she and Raymond were inseparable, the perfect match of goodness and kindness to each other. Above all Loie Jean was a mother and grandmother. She served her family with undying devotion. She had a special way of making everyone feel that they were her favorite. She will forever be deeply loved and revered by her family. We pray that her goodness will live on through her posterity. Survivors include her children: Kathy Whicker (Fred), Susan Hendricksen (Les), John Murray (Annette), Beth Stephenson (Chris), Margaret Mowry (Bill); brother Raymond Heaton, brother Micheal Heaton (Alice), sister Christene Linton (David), 26 grandchildren and 63 great grandchildren. Loie Jean is preceded in death by her husband Fred, parents Nina and Glen, baby brother Robert “Bobby” Glen and grandson Matthew Murray Painter. Funeral service will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018 at 11:00 am, at the Rock Church (75 E Center Street, Cedar City, UT). There will be a viewing on Sunday, April 15 2018, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Southern Utah Mortuary (190 N 300 W, Cedar City, UT), and again on Monday, April 16, 2018 from 9:30 – 10:30 am at the Rock Church. Interment will be in the Cedar City Cemetery under the direction of Southern Utah Mortuary. The family would like to thank the many wonderful healthcare providers that treated her with tender loving care and assisted Loie Jean throughout her years, especially her dear doctor Thomas Marshall.