Muriel had a keen sense of humor. One of the ways she referred to herself was as "a coper". She showed evidence of coping many times during her life. As a young mother, she had to cope with taking care of two young children by herself while Paul was away in the Navy in WW II. Later in life, while wheel chair bound, she coped with that condition by living independently for over 10 year years.
Muriel attended Russel Sage College, to which she commuted from Bennington for 4 years, graduating with a BA in Fine Arts in 1969 at the age of 48. She went on to receive her MA in Education at Castleton State College and taught at St Joseph's College in Bennington for several years.
Early in life, she made clothes for herself and her children and did crocheting and knitting. In her forties she pursued her interest in painting and became an accomplished artist. In her Bennington studio she taught art to many local resident and pursued many styles of painting. She enjoyed experimenting and used different media. Some of her first work was folk art and she worked in oils, pastels, and acrylic and in later years fell in love with collage. Among her exhibits was the annual Grand Isle Art Show where she exhibited for over 25 years while summering on Keeler's Bay in South Hero. In 2014 she was their featured artist.
She shared the results of her talents with friends and family who all have examples of her art displayed in their homes. Each Christmas, Muriel would provide an ornament to family members often depicting an important happening during the recipients past year.
She was active in churches at each stop in her life. She and Paul were members of the Presbyterian Church in Beverly, New Jersey for 7 years before moving back to Vermont in 1962 where they lived in Bennington until 2004. She is a member of the Second Congregational Church in Bennington where she and Paul both sang in the choir for many years and Muriel was a substitute organist from time to time. Muriel was active with the Church Bazar which she chaired. While living at Shelburne Bay Senior Living, she continued to provide crocheted and other items for the Bazar.
She and Paul loved to travel and included trips to South America, Europe and Russia as well as the United States. She attended art workshops on New Mexico, Texas, South Carolina and Maine among others. She was a very intelligent person and her mind was keen to the end. She prided herself on being able to complete the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle each week and took pride in keeping up with the news and voting in every election.
Muriel was predeceased by Paul, her husband of 65 years, brothers William and Robert and sister Noreen. She leaves her daughter Karen of Shelburne, son Keith and partner Gina McGlinchey of Westford Massachusetts and son Paul and his wife Nancy of Essex Junction and five grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
A memorial reception will held at the Residences at the Shelburne Bay Great Room from 1-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. A memorial service will be held in Bennington at the 2nd Congregational Church at 2:00 p.m. on April 3rd.
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