Earline Murray

Earline was born Feb. 14, 1928 in Kansas City, Kan. to Thomas Earl and Helen Marguerite Brown. She was a member of the 1945 class at North Kansas City High School, where she was a class officer, cheerleader and homecoming queen. After school, she was a secretary at St. Luke"s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. On March 16, 1949, Earline married Gene Murray in Kansas City, Mo., where she worked as a medical transcriptionist and where they lived until they moved to Paola in 1954. There they raised a family of four children. In 1969, they purchased a radio and television retail business in Paola, which they renamed Murray Radio and TV, where Earline worked until they sold in 1991. She became the full-time store manager when she and Gene started a cable television operation in Paola in 1972. Paola Cable TV eventually expanded to include Spring Hill, Osawatomie, La Cygne, Louisburg and Drexel, Mo. It was sold in 1986. Earline was in charge of the reading program when Head Start began in Paola in the 1960s. She was a former 3rd Ward Committee woman for the Democratic Party, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and a member of the Miami County Hospital Auxiliary. Earline was an active member of Paola Christian Church, serving on its board, teaching Sunday School, and teaching vacation Bible school. She was also a member of the Paola Country Club, past president of the Shamrock Study Club, and an avid bridge player, loved sports especially KU and the SanAntonio Spurs teams Earline enjoyed traveling with her husband, within the 48 continental U.S. states and to Hawaii, Alaska and the British Isles. After retirement, she made quilts for all her children. She was known for her spunk, her generosity at Christmas, her love of dressing up for Halloween, and creative practical jokes. Earline"s life revolved around her church, her family, her friends and neighbors. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Survivors are her husband, Gene, of the home; daughter, Donna Rowlett and husband Charlie of Centerville; three sons, Kent and wife Glenna Murray of Paola; Keith and wife Gail Murray of Shawnee, Kan., and Kevin and wife Penny Murray of Wiley, Texas; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sister, Dorothy May Myers of Claycomo, Mo.; two half-brothers, Danny Brown and Tom Brown; and one half-sister, Marie Johnson. Paola Christian Church Service: Monday, February 22, 2010 11:00 AM Visitation: Monday, February 22, 2010 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM