Muriel L. Duncan

Muriel L. Duncan

Anamosa

Muriel L. Duncan, 102, of Anamosa, formerly of Morley, passed away on June 18, 2022. After her 102nd birthday she contracted COVID and never really recovered. Honoring her wishes, she will be cremated and there will be no funeral.

A celebration of her life and inurnment will be held at a later date. Please visit Goettschonline.com and share your thoughts, memories, stories and condolences with Muriel’s family.

Muriel Laverta Hunter was born Aug. 13, 1919, in Morley, the eldest child of Lloyd E. (Babe) and L. Pearl (Clymer) Hunter. She attended school in Morley and Olin, and graduated from Morley Consolidated School in 1937. She worked as a clerk at several stores before her marriage to Rolland Lawrence Duncan on June 29, 1942. They were the parents of four children.

During World War II she was a collar setter at the Reliance Shirt Factory in Anamosa, and worked in assembly at Freuhauf’s in Cedar Rapids. She was the bookkeeper for the Morley Telephone Company for 17 years and served as the postmaster in Morley for 24 years. She and her husband lived on the Duncan Century Farm for 19 years. Together with their friend, Millie Cook, Muriel and Lawrence worked in interior decorating for a number of years. She also was in charge of the Morley Library for a number of years.

She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Morley, and at various times over the years was a member of the Chatterbox Club, U-goa I-goa, Rural ART Club, Painting N’ Pallette Club and knitting workshop. Her hobbies included oil and water-color painting, ceramics and porcelain, knitting and embroidery machines, and working with wood, cloth, and leather. She was an excellent seamstress. Being a child of the Great Depression, she learned to do many things for herself and was absolutely fearless about trying a project, whether she had done it before or not.

She is survived by her children, Florence Duncan and Dennis Duncan, Anamosa, and Laurie Duncan Davis, Cedar Rapids; grandsons, Lawrence Davis and Patrick Davis, both of Cedar Rapids; her nieces and nephews, Coleen VanAntwerp, Sue VanBehren, Rex Allan, Bonnie Allan and Lynda Ary, and one first cousin, Gerry Russell. She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Arlene Hunter and Myrtle Hay; her husband, Lawrence in 1973; her infant son, Vandy Duncan in 1945; and her nephew, Bruce Hay.

The family would like to thank “Nurse Lindsay” and the entire staff of Above and Beyond Hospice for the wonderful care Muriel received.

Memorials may be directed to the Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 Fourth St., Des Moines, IA 50309.