Franklin Boswell Murrell 1920 - 2001

MURRELL, BOSWELL, NEALEY, DILL, TEKIPPE, BENNETT

Posted By: Debbie (email)
Date: 11/6/2006 at 23:02:25

The Burlington Hawkeye - Janaury 29, 2001

Franklin Murrell

Franklin Boswell Murrell, 81, of West Burlington, died at 8:40 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, 2001, at Great River Medical Center's Klein Center.

Born Jan. 22, 1920, in Meridian, Miss., he was the son of Thomas Kadar and Mary Otie Boswell Murrell. On Jan. 25, 1946, he married Sara Margaret Nealey of Danville in Washington, D.C. She died June 27, 1982. On June 1, 1984, he married Mary M. "Peg" Dill in West Burlington.

Mr. Murrell was a crane operator for Burlington Northern Railroad for 31 years, retiring in 1983. He also raised grain and livestock. He worked for Western Electric Telephone Co. in Washington, D.C., and installed all the phones in the White House during Harry S. Truman's administration.

He was a graduate of Summerville, Tenn., high school and attended the University of Tennessee, where he played football. He was invited to play in the Shrine Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., in 1939. He was an Army veteran. He was a member of Harmony Bible Church in Danville, the Retired Railroad Association and the plus-50's group at the church. He loved his family, church and raising cattle and hogs. He enjoyed hunting and many sports.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, Eric E. Murrell of West Burlington and Jon D. Murrell of Urbandale; two daughters, Deborah S. TeKippe of West Union and Margaret J. Bennett of Clarkson Valley, Mo.; three stepdaughters, Nan Boren of Cannonsburg, Pa., Debbie Seele of Evergreen, Colo., and Jeanne Henning of Rochester, Minn.; nine grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; four sisters, Dot Hathaway of Bartlett, Tenn., Annie Hobson of Canton, Ga., Sara Sooter of Vinita, Okla., and Mary Otie of Arlington, Tenn.; and two brothers, T.K. Murrell of Oakland, Tenn., and Charles Murrell of Cordova, Tenn.

Besides his first wife, he was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Visitation will begin after noon Tuesday at Elliott Chapel in New London, where the family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The funeral for Mr. Murrell will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Harmony Bible Church in Danville, with Pastor Mark Connelly officiating. Burial will be in Jaggar Cemetery in Danville.

A memorial has been established for Harmony Bible Church.