Thelma “Elaine” Murphy, 85, passed away Aug. 15 at Lakeview Gardens.

She was born Feb. 21, 1931, in Klamath Falls to Loring and Thelma (Tucker) Richardson.

She lived in Bly where she received her elementary education and then moved to Wagontire and boarded in Burns during the school year and graduated from Burns High School in 1949. After she and Gene Miller were married, she owned and operated a grocery store in Burns. After Gene’s death, she stayed in Burns until 1964 when she moved to Paisley. It was in Paisley that Elaine met Mike Murphy and they ran off to Reno to be married on June 3, 1965. Since Mike was the manager of the Jones Ranch, she stayed busy helping him until 1977 when she started cooking for the ZX haying crews. It was about that time that she began her long career of working at the Paisley Mercantile.

Riding down to Reno behind her son, Gary, on his Harley was, to say the least, a very memorable ride for her. Elaine always enjoyed trying to “strike it rich” in Reno.

Fishing was a lot of fun for Elaine when they were biting, but not worth her time if they weren’t.

Her greatest amount of enjoyment came from spending time with her grandchildren.

Elaine is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Bobbie Miller of Boring; sons, Jerry Miller of Bend and Boss Murphy of Paisley; daughter and son-in-law, Faye and Dale Blair of Paisley; 10 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Loring and Thelma Richardson; husbands, Gene Miller and Mike Murphy; and sister, Lorraine Lynch.

A funeral service was held Aug. 19 in the Paisley Community Center, with committal in the Paisley Cemetery.

Contributions in Elaine’s memory may be made to the Paisley Disaster Unit, P.O. Box 208, Paisley, OR 97636 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Desert Rose Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.