Obituaries

Prayers for serenity were answered Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 9:11 PM when Vera Maria Hildegard Murrell (née Mohr) shed her earthly bonds of pain and suffering to soar with her Creator at the age of 70.   She is at peace.

Vera was a super warrior who pushed the limits of survival. With great courage, determination, and grace, she embraced life fully for 3 years and 8 months while battling a stage IV lung cancer diagnosis that initially gave her only 6 months to live.  She lived and passed with great dignity.

Vera was born in Morbach, Germany where she met and married Dan.  It was the start of a 50 year partnership that produced two loving children and a lifetime of fond memories.  She moved to the United States to begin a new life and start a family.  She worked in a variety of retail, accounting and purchasing roles.  Vera moved from Fort Worth, Texas to her adopted home in Friendsville, Tennessee in part because the area so vividly reminded her of her childhood home in the Hunsrück area of the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.  Vera was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, dog mommy, homemaker, student, employee, and, through all the past 50 years — military spouse.  She leaves behind a legacy of love and warmhearted memories.

Vera was of enduring faith and a member of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Alcoa, Tennessee.  She supported the Catholic Church there and in Fort Worth, Texas by handcrafting hundreds of rosaries for students and youth.  She also demonstrated her faith as a member of the Friendly Quilters and Crafters group in the Baptist Church of Friendsville, Tennessee where she prayerfully and lovingly created ‘Prayer’ quilts for those fighting life threatening illness and many ‘Honor’ quilts for veterans.

Vera approached the natural, spiritual and mystical world with a sense of wonder, curiosity and appreciation. Similar to her Catholic name saint, Hildegard von Bingen, she was deeply interested in the healing qualities of plants, minerals, touch, and spirit. From a very young age, she found happiness and healing while walking in nature. She ‘spoke’ with her trees and flowers and they seemed to respond to her.  She loved her extended family of creatures and plants. She doted on pets and animals and was always prepared with treats and an ear scratch. She loved to relax on the front porch by reading books and watching and listening to the song birds eating from feeders she maintained.

Vera was preceded in death by her parents Hedwig and Ludwig Mohr. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Dan Murrell. She was a devoted and loving mother to her daughter Nina and her son Niko. Vera is survived by two dear siblings, and, many nieces and nephews and their families: brother Karl-Otto Mohr (spouse Anneliese; children: Dirk, Sabine, Michael) in Germany and sister Annerose Gaudin-Mohr (spouse Marcel; children: Stephane, Tanja, Mike, Korali) in France.