Obituaries, May 27, 2005

Vera Broughton

Vera Broughton, 95, of Cottonwood, died May 24, 2005. She was born March 31, 1910, in Helvetia, Arizona territory, to Edna Mae (Price) and Harry Cruse and was lifelong resident of the Verde Valley and attended the Clear Creek school in Camp Verde.

She was active in Eastern Star and Rainbow Girls and was a founding member of the Cottonwood Civic Club. A member of Cottonwood Gem and Mineral Club, VFW Auxillary, Republican Party Committee Women, Cottonwood Water Board, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Mountain View United Methodist Church, she was active with the Verde Valley Fair in its beginning years.

Mrs. Broughton was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest G. Broughton; son William G. Broughton; brother John Rudd and the Honorable Eldon Rudd of the House of Represenatives.

She is survived by her daughter Virgie Young, of Champaign, Ill.; daughter-in-law, Carol Broughton, of Cottonwood; daughter Margaret Hickok, of Cottonwood, and son Ernest J. Boughton, of Mesa; sister Eleanor Gremsgard, of Coquille, Ore.; 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be May 28 in the Westcott Funeral Home, 10-11 a.m. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m.

Anna Marie Shanks

Anna Marie Shanks, 88, of Flagstaff, died May 22, 2005.Anna Marie was born July 31, 1916, in Buffalo, N.Y.

She was married to Donald D. Shanks on July 24, 1945, and, as far as anyone knows, they never said an unkind word to each other. They moved to Flagstaff in 1949. She was a retiree of the Valley National Bank where she worked as a trust administrator. She was a founding member of St. Pius X Parish and was a member of the Rosary Altar Society, the collection counting committee, and served for many years as secretary to the CCD program.

She was a very creative person who loved to sew and do various kinds of needlework. In her layer years, when her eyesight began to fail, she spent many hours listening to recorded books provided by the Arizona Library for the Blind.

Anna Marie is survived by her husband, Donald; a daughter Janet (William) Fish, of Winslow; sons Gerald (Merry Carol) Shanks, of Cornville, Leonard (Janice) Shanks, of Glendale, and Daniel Shanks, of Cottonwood. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Gerry (Lisa) Shanks, of Tucson, Donna Ann (Dennis) Betz, of Glendale, Kristen Shanks, of Gilbert, Donnie (Terra) Shanks, of Cornville, William (Jennifer) Fish, of Bossier City, La., and Scott Shanks, of Tucson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Margaret (Merkel) Reinhart, and a brother, John Reinhart.

A memorial Mass was May 26 in the Immaculate Conception Church, 700 N. Bill Gray Road, Cottonwood.

Westcott Funeral Home is directing these arrangements.

Dan F. Murdock

Dan F. Murdock, 85, of Camp Verde, died May 20, 2005. He was born Dec. 15, 1919, in Camp Verde.

Mr. Murdock was raised in the Verde Valley, the son of a pioneering family, and attended Camp Verde Elementary and High School. He also attended a year at Arizona State University when it was known as the Tempe Normal Agricultural School, where he milked cows and worked at the school's dairy to pay tuition costs.

He spent his summers at his grandfather's (Benjamin McDonald) sawmill at Bill Dick Spring. At age 14, he hauled lumber from that mill in a Model T truck up to the mines near Jerome.

He was a veteran of World War II and served in Okinawa during the war and in Korea during the reclamation, as consulting foreman building bridges and maintaining 230 miles of railway.

During his service to his country, he was awarded the Purple Heart, which was destroyed in a compound fire during his duty in Korea.

Mr. Murdock worked on the flightline at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, Calif., and later worked for Wingfield Hardware Store in Camp Verde for 10 years.

He retired as chief of maintenance from the National Park Service and spent his retirement years as a volunteer at Fort Verde State Historic Park and helping people in need. He was a great fixer, especially sawmill work and woodworking.

He loved the Lord, attended the Camp Verde United Methodist Church and demonstrated this love with his service to his family, friends and community.

Mr. Murdock is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marjorie Murdock; a son, Dan W. Murdock of Page; a daughter, Connie M. Richards of Camp Verde; brothers, Lyn Murdock of San Diego, Walt Murdock and Joe Murdock, both of Camp Verde and Dick Murdock of Show Low; sisters LaVonna McCracken and Kathy Reid, both of Camp Verde and Sharlene Sammeli of Kingman; four grandchildren, Tyler Richards and Troy Richards, both of Camp Verde, Billy Murdock of Brevard, North Carolina and Nancie McCraw of North Carolina and one great-grandchild, Cory Reynolds of Gilbert.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 28, in the Camp Verde United Methodist Church at 1 p.m.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Northern Arizona Hospice, 269 S. Candy Lane, Cottonwood 86326.

Westcott Funeral Home was entrusted with these arrangements.

Raymond O. Stone

Raymond O. Stone was born Feb. 21, 1912, in Parma, Idaho, and died April 25, 2005, in Hillsboro, Ore. He spent his life in Secondary Education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His retirement years were spent here in the Verde Valley living in both Cornville and then Cottonwood.

Ray was director of the Cottonwood Adventist Community Service Center for five years. During that time he gave direction to the program and spiritual leadership, counseled the grieving and encouraged the despondent. His expertise as a shopper assured our donors that every dollar would provide several dollars' worth of food for the hungry. It was his joy to personally hand a banana to a child who had eaten no breakfast because there was no food in the house and to be ready with a second banana if the lines were long.

His care for people - hurting people - guided his life and motivated his interaction with all with whom he came in contact. There was never a doubt - this was a man who cared deeply and did his very best to make life a little easier for those around him, especially the young and the hurting.

After the death of his wife, Beulah, Ray Stone moved to Oregon to be near his remaining family. Survivors include daughter, Byrna Rae Botimer of Cornelius, Ore.; son Robert J. Stone of Milwaukee, Ore.; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; sister Doris Wisbey of Napa, Calif., and brother Joe Stone of Portland, Ore.


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