Sister Michaela Murrey, 84, a Benedictine sister of Saint Bede Monastery, died at Clairemont Nursing and Rehabilitation on Sunday, June 15, 2008 following a lingering illness.\r\nBorn in Wilton, North Dakota to parents, Stanley and Agnes (Partyke) Murrey on September 29, 1923, Sister Michaela was the sixth child in a family of six girls and five boys. She graduated from Wilton High School in 1940 and went on to obtain a Teacher Certification Diploma in 1942 at the State Teachers College in Minot, ND. A desire for further education led her to Saint Benedict's College in Saint Joseph, MN where she earned a bachelor of art's degree in 1945. During these college years she entered the Benedictine community and in 1946 made her first profession. In 1948, Sister Michaela joined the newly formed Saint Bede Monastery in Eau Claire. Her Golden Jubilee of Profession was celebrated in 1996.\r\nSister Michaela's years of ministry were diversified. She taught upper grades while sometimes also serving as principal in several schools in the La Crosse Diocese. These schools include Saint Patrick's School in both Eau Claire and Onalaska, Richland Center, LaCrosse and Regis High School. During these years she furthered her career by obtaining certification in library science as well as being awarded a bachelor's degree in theology from Saint John's University in Collegeville, MN. In her years as a librarian, Sister Michaela not only enhanced her own love for reading, but encouraged students to discover the wealth of information found in books while opening up new areas of interest for them to pursue.\r\nBeing born and raised on a ranch in North Dakota, Sister's great joy was the exhilarating freshness found in horseback riding in open country spaces. Throughout her lifetime her memories of "home on the range" provided her with many stories which she so graciously shared with all who knew her.\r\nSister Michaela is survived by her sisters Elbie Matthiesen and Delores Murrey of Bismarck and Donna Mautz of Garrison, ND; her brother, Jerry, of Regan, ND, many nieces and nephews as well as her Benedictine community. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Pauline Beard, Virginia Boeckl, Betty June Murrey and her brothers John, Frank, Theodore and Duane.\r\nIn honoring Sister Michaela's wishes, there will be no wake service. However, there will be a visitation at 9:30 am on Saturday, June 21 until the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 at Saint Bede Monastery. Burial will be held in Saint Patrick's Cemetery at a later date.\r\nLenmark-Gomsrud-Linn Funeral Home is assisting Saint Bede Monastery with arrangements.

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