116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Janette R. Murrell
JANETTE R. MURRELL
Melbourne, Fla.
Janette R Murrell, 85, passed away on May 17, 2021, in Melbourne, Fla. Janette was born May 28, 1935, in Perry, Iowa, to Harry T. Hoagland and Hilda M. (Appenzeller) Hoagland. She attended Perry schools graduating in 1953, and then attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines. She married high school sweetheart, Robert Murrell, on April 18, 1954. The couple moved to Ames, where she worked for WOI Radio and Iowa State University while Robert attended school. In 1957 they moved to Elkader, where Robert taught high school vocational agriculture.
Jan was active in church and community functions and worked as secretary for the Clayton County Extension service. She later lived in Grundy Center, Iowa, Chatfield, Minn., West Union, Iowa, and Clarence, Iowa. The couple then retired to Lead Hill, Ark., in 1996, ultimately moving to Melbourne, Fla., in 2015.
Jan is survived by her husband of 67 years, Robert B. Murrell; children, Michael D. and Deborah Murrell of Hiawatha, Iowa, Lizabeth and William Harris of Melbourne, Fla., and Marty Murrell of Charlotte, Iowa; grandchildren, Sarah Swenson, Luke Murrell, Wade Harris, Moira Murrell and Maclane Murrell; and two great-grandchildren.
Janette was preceded in death by her father, mother and brother, Steven Hoagland.
Jan was an active community member, particularly in the churches she attended and was always in a church choir also serving as a youth choir director. She was also an active volunteer in all of the communities she lived. Jan was an excellent homemaker, gardener, avid reader, accomplished seamstress and puzzle solver. In later years, she enjoyed extensive travel of the United States, most often by Gold Wing motorcycle. Upon retiring in the Bulls Shoals Lake area south of Branson, she was an avid fisherman and enthusiast of musical and entertainment shows.
A family memorial service will be held at the Twin Lakes Club House on May 20. Burial will be in Winterset, Iowa, at a later date. Memorials can be directed to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation or your local food pantry.
Daily Newsletters