Muriel was born in Daysland, Alberta on November 15, 1926. At birth, her given name was Olive Taylor. She was sent to an orphanage in Edmonton. Louise Crum traveled to Edmonton in 1927 to see a doctor and was told that she would not be able to have children. Unaware to her husband, Melvin Crum, Louise adopted little Olive Taylor and brought her back to South Dawson. They renamed her Muriel Louise and that’s how her story began. The family was blessed a couple of years later with a son named Ronald.
Muriel was raised on the Crum family farm in south Dawson. That is where she met her future husband Lloyd. Lloyd served in the American Army during World War II and upon his return they were married February 6, 1948.
Muriel and Lloyd, along with Lloyd’s brother Harold, purchased land in the Pine View area in 1948. They started a family with Melvin being born in January 1949, Daryl in October 1951, Gordon June of 1953, Wanda March of 1957 and Curtis November 1961.
Muriel can be described as someone who can be a bit excitable, a woman with an opinion and always ready to use it. There were only a few times that Lloyd got the last word. Muriel can be defined as the matriarch of the family. Although Muriel kept order in the family, she also had a fun loving and somewhat, “wild side”. The house on the farm was often filled with gatherings after hockey games, curling bonspiels, square dances, board games and early morning breakfasts after community dances.
In 1970, Muriel and Lloyd rented out their farm and lived in the house at Pine View until 1988, in which they moved to Fort St. John and later to Heritage Manor.
Muriel made many lasting friends in the farming community, the Co-op Store, the Senior’s Hall, and at Heritage Manor in her 63 years in the North Peace.
She will be missed by all her friends and family. Muriel is survived by her 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Muriel in her final three years experienced some health issues; she may have lost her physical strength, but never lost her strong sense of spirit.
It is that spirit that we are honouring today.
We all know that Muriel had a lot to say about everything.
If she had one last thing to say, it would be,
“It’s time to say good-bye to all of you little buggers!”…..