Elverna Leila (Bruce) Murray

          Elverna Leila (Bruce) Murray, 86, of North College Hill, Ohio passed away Saturday, June 20, 2020 at the Alois Alzheimer’s Center, Cincinnati.  She was born Monday, March 26, 1934 at the Whitlatch Clinic in Milan, Indiana, and was raised on the family farm at Mt. Sinai, west of Aurora, Indiana. 

          From first through eighth grade she attended the two-room schoolhouse in Wilmington, where her mother was a teacher. 

          She was a member of Rainbow Girls and 4-H, showing Jersey dairy cattle at the county fair.  In addition to milking cows at home she was familiar with sheep and mules.  She graduated from Aurora High School in 1952 at the mid-term and went on to business school in Cincinnati.  Her first job as a medical secretary was in a doctor’s office on Auburn Avenue.  She was employed at Children’s Hospital in the radiology department for 34 years, retiring in 1996.  She also owned and operated a women’s clothing store on Pippen Road, The Elm Tree.  Several part-time jobs followed her first retirement, one of which took her to Europe.

           In recent years she was involved in various community projects, committees, and activities.  She was readily recognized in her neighborhood as the lady with the five-gallon bucket, walking on her street, picking up trash.  She was also well known for collecting empty pill bottles for “Doctors Without Borders”, for collecting aluminum cans for the “D.A.V.”, and for giving away little flashlights.  Quote: “Every woman should have a flashlight in her purse, and in her car.”

          Elverna loved foxes, and greatly enjoyed her flowerbeds and feeding birds. 

          She traveled extensively in the U.S.A., including Alaska, and also visited Ireland and Scotland.  She was proud of her Scot ancestry and valued a photograph of her taken by the statue of Robert the Bruce.

          Above all she was a patriot, never missed casting her vote, and proudly wore and displayed the “red, white, and blue”.

          Elverna was preceded in death by her parents Elvin L. and Myrtle M. Bruce, a brother Gerald A. Bruce, a daughter Debra L. Coy, two great-granddaughters Cayenne R. Gabbard and Peighton M. Duffy, and a nephew Jerry D. Bruce.

          She is survived by a sister Nadine L. Meyer, Mt. Sinai, four children Sherry E. Hummel (Joe), Moores Hill, Indiana, Robin M. Murray, Batesville, Indiana, Michael B. Murray (Diane), Milton, West Virginia, and Kelly A. Watkins (Taylor), Kettering, Ohio, six grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren.  Her first great-great-grandchild is expected in September.

          Visitation will be held Wednesday, June 24, 2020 from 5 till 8 PM at the Neidhard Young Funeral Home, Mt. Healthy, Ohio.  A private burial will take place in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery.

          Memorials may be made to Disabled American Veterans in North College Hill.

          Serving the family: Neidhard Young Funeral Home, Mt. Healthy, and Sibbett-Moore Funeral Home, Box 156, Moores Hill, Indiana 47032.  You may  go to www.sibbettmoore.com to leave an online condolence message for the family.