Barbara June Nielsen Murry

Barbara June Nielsen Murry, age 75 of La Grande and formerly of Pilot Rock, Oregon died, Thursday, November 9, 2006 at the Grande Ronde Hospital. Family and friends may call from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at Daniels Chapel of the Valley. A celebration of life service will be held on Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. at Daniels Chapel of the Valley.

Ms. Murry was born June 16, 1931 at Pilot Rock to Hans C. Nielsen and Mable E. Galbreath Nielsen. Ms. Murry grew up on a ranch up East Birch Creek and attended schools in Pilot Rock to half her sophomore year till her parents moved to Portland where she completed her schooling at Franklin High School.

On January 28, 1950 she married Stanley Fitzpatrick from Lansing, Michigan. Ms. Murry worked for the General Telephone Co. in Grand Lodge, Michigan for four years then worked for Oldsmobile-building Oldsmobile's until the Korean War and they guit making cars and made parts for airplanes.

Ms. Murry divorced in 1955 and moved back to Oregon in 1957 where she worked for Esco (Electric Steel Foundry) in Portland. On December 13, 1957 she married Howard Hansen and moved to White City, Oregon and worked for 3M. She and her husband built a log home themselves. They had one daughter, Theresa. In 1969 she married Earl L. Murry, a logger and PRCA cowboy, traveling all over rodeoing. They moved to Ketchikan, Alaska in 1975 working on road construction and logging. They lived on a log float camp, that was the largest camp of its kind in the world. It consisted of large logs held together by wire rope, floating off shore on the ocean. The camp had 40 trailer houses a school, play ground and two large homes. The only way into camp or out was by boat or bush plane. She loved to fish out her back door.

After returning to Oregon in 1985 she and her husband bought trucks and long hauled the lower 48, then moved to Fairbanks, Alaska and hauled on the pipe line to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. At 56, Ms. Murry went back to school to work in the travel industry. Ms. Murry moved to La Grande in 1991 where she has lived since.

Ms. Murry enjoyed fishing, hunting, traveling and taking the back roads. Her parents Hans and Mable Nielsen, brother, Dr. Lawrence E. Nielsen, a niece Virginia Price and her daughter Nicole Price, nephew Clayton Nielsen and all three husbands preceded her in death.

She is survived by daughter Theresa Marie Hansen of La Grande. Brother, Frank Nielsen of Union and sister, Beverly de Young of Grants Pass, Oregon and several nieces and nephews.


Those who wish may make contributions in memory of Barbara June Nielsen Murry to the American Diabetes Association in care of Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 7th Street, La Grande, Oregon 97850.