Muriel Rose Hannay went to her Heavenly home Saturday, May 1, 2010, just in time to celebrate her 68th wedding anniversary on Sunday, May 2, with her previously departed husband, Bob.

She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 26, 1922, to Richard and Rose (Doherty) Ebner. Growing up in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, she spent summer days at her family's cabin on Blackwater Lake in northern Minnesota. She graduated from Robbinsdale High School in 1940, and married her high school sweetheart, Robert Thomas Hannay, May 2, 1942. While Bob was in the Army teaching radio techniques, Muriel worked as a teletype operator, living in Los Angeles and then Miami. After the war they built a house in Crystal, a suburb of Minneapolis. While raising five kids, Muriel got the family into travel and camping. On one trip, Easter break 1963, the family camped in Arkansas around Hot Springs. They returned the next year and camped at Cove Lake. It was during those trips, Muriel and Bob fell in love with the Ozarks, the friendly people, and the simpler life. They moved with the three youngest kids, Steve, Phil, and Val, to Arkansas in 1966, living first in Midway, then moving into a house they built on Rich Mountain near Mount Magazine. After the kids moved away, Bob and Muriel continued to live on Rich Mountain, spending summers at the family cabin on Blackwater Lake. In 2004, Muriel sold the house on Rich Mountain and moved to Charleston. Muriel was a long time member of the Society of Mothers at St. Joseph's Church.

On March 20, Muriel had a severe stroke, leaving her mostly paralyzed, unable to speak or swallow. With no progress and further complications from an infection, she was transferred to the loving care of Peachtree Hospice. Muriel was preceded in death by a son, Steven Robert Hannay, October 11, 1974 (oil rig accident), and beloved husband, Bob, June 15, 1988 (lung cancer).

She is survived by two sisters, Margaret Barnum and Rose Marie (Leigh) Rolph; four children, Barbara (Roland) Bergman, Diane (Michael) McGuigan, Philip (Katherine Kubal) Hannay, Valerie (Peter) Hyde; five grandchildren, Wolfgang (Elizabeth) Bergman, Windsong Bergman, Bjorn Bergman, Michelle McGuigan, and Ian Hannay; two great-grandchildren, Helena and William Bergman; and many nieces and nephews.

A special thanks is given to Ruby Pearce of Charleston, who was a valued caregiver to Muriel in her later years. May Muriel rest in peace.

Rosary service will be 7:00 p.m., Monday, May 10th, at Brotherton Funeral Home Chapel in Paris.

Mass of Christian burial will be 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 11th, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Paris, with interment at St. Joseph Cemetery in Paris, under the direction of Brotherton Brothers Funeral Home in Paris.

Family will visit with friends Monday night following the Rosary service.

To pay an online tribute, please visit www.brothertonbrothersfuneralhomes.com.