Leona Murray, 73
Leona Murray age 73 of Fredericksburg, IA, died Tuesday, October 15, 2019, at her home.
A Funeral Service will be held 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 24, 2019 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in Fredericksburg with Rev. Kevin Fry presiding. Private family interment will be held at a later date.
Friends may greet the family from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in Fredericksburg.
Leona was born on Aug. 18, 1946, to Arnold and Elsie (Wilkie) Franzen at the old St. Joseph’s Hospital in New Hampton.
She grew up in the Lawler area and attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School through the eighth grade before attending Turkey Valley High School. Leona was a member of the Class of 1964, the first group of students who attended the Jackson Junction school for all four years of their high school careers.
She married James Ohm, and they had three children — Sherie, Bobby and Ricky — and her children remember their mother as a hard worker who loved to cook and bake. Leona and James later divorced.
Leona worked in the sanitation department at Meinerz — which was later known as Beatrice and Con Agra — in Fredericksburg, where she performed a variety of jobs. She told her kids that she had no qualms about climbing into vats to “scoop” them out. She believed in doing a job — be it scooping vats, making mozzarella cheese or operating a machine — right the first time.
It was at Meinerz where she met Fred Murray in the late 1970s. They hit it off almost immediately, and although they weren’t married until 1998, they blended their families long before then.
Leona and Fred loved to take the kids to Adventureland and on camping trips, and Leona never turned down a chance to go fishing. Leona and Fred were also members of the Fredericksburg County Club, and a round of golf with them was always an enjoyable experience.
The couple had a place on the Mississippi River just south of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and Leona lived for her time at “The River,” where her and Fred spent countless hours fishing and visiting with their friends.
Leona was one of those people who wasn’t afraid to express her opinion; as Fred puts it, “If she had something to say, she was going to say it,” but she also taught her family the value of hard work — when she retired in 2005, she had never missed a day of work — and a love for the outdoors.
She was a lifetime member of White Tails Unlimited, a conservation group that works to provide habitat.
Leona loved her husband, her children, Fred’s children, their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren, and she will be missed by them and the numerous friends she made both here in Chickasaw County and at “The River.”
Leona is survived by her husband, Fred Murray of Fredericksburg, IA; one son, Ricky Ohm of Fredericksburg, IA, one daughter, Cherie (Randy) Schnieder of Fredericksburg, IA, one step-son, Steve (Sara) Murray of New Hampton, IA, one step-daughter, Lisa Pryor of Waterloo, IA; several grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; one brother, Larry (Mary) Franzen of Fredericksburg, IA; three sisters, Linda (Kenny) Schaufenbuel of Lawler, IA, Lorraine (Ray) Armbrecht of Fredericksburg, IA, LeAnn Franzen of Fredericksburg, IA; one sister-in-law, Darlene Franzen of New Hampton.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband James Ohm; one son, Bobby Ohm; four brothers, Lyle Franzen, Leo Franzen, LaVerne Franzen, Lennie Franzen; one sister Geraldine (Bob) Randall.
