Shirley Kay Murphy

She was born July 4, 1951 in Peoria, IL to John L. and Catherine E. (Grinter) Murphy. She married L. Carl Runge in Peoria.

She is survived by her sister, Charlene (Tom) Henry of Peoria; four nephews, John (Shelley) Orr, Randy (Dawn) Orr and Ben Henry all of Chicago, and Jon (Jessie) Henry of Oak Park; and two nieces, Kat (Joe) Harvath of Edwardsville and Lori Conway of Dunlap.

She was preceded in death by her parents; maternal grandfather, John M. Grinter; paternal grandmother, Frieda (Borman) March; two great-aunts, Ruth Grinter and Inez (Fuller) Robertson; and great-uncle, Frank (Laura) Grinter.

Shirley worked as a Secretary at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria for over 40 years before retiring. She enjoyed flower gardening and made many beautiful arrangements from fresh and artificial flowers. In her youth she played softball and even raced in the Powder Puff Division at the Peoria Speedway. She was a member of First United Methodist Church and attended at Northwest United Methodist Church both in Peoria. She was also a member of the GTO Owners Association and The Ladies Group from the AG-Lab. Shirley also had a great love and way with animals. This was reflected in her love for her sisters dogs, Sunshine, Rory and Aine, and a finicky cat named Milo.

A funeral service will be on Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 3 pm, with visitation one hour prior to the service at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel. Cremation will be accorded following the service and burial of the urn will be at a later date at Parkview Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Parkinson Foundation. Words of comfort can be shared with the family at www.davison-fulton.com.