Helene Murray passed away peacefully on Friday, June 29, 2018. She was a Catholic.
Graveside services will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 6, 2018 at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Thursday, July 5, 2018 at Bellmead Funeral Home.
Helene attended school in her native Germany, where she met Charlie Murray who was a member of the U.S. Air Force. They married in Germany in September 1953 & later moved to Waco, where Charlie was stationed at James Connally Air Force Base, and where their son Charles (Chuckie) was later born.
She was athletic & an avid swimmer, who would go to the pool every day after work when they lived on the base. Even in her late 80's she was very spry and continued to work in her yard. Helene was employed at Alamo Steel for many years as a bookkeeper. It was important to her to stay connected to the local German community where she made many longtime friends that were a major part of her life. She loved to entertain, and she and Charlie spent many evenings hosting friends in their home, dancing and playing cards. She also enjoyed boating and fishing on Lake Whitney with Charlie and their friends. She and Charlie had 42 happy years together until he died in 1995. Helene then continued to live life to the fullest, and loved getting together with friends to play cards and dominoes. In addition to German and English, Helene could speak several other languages, including French and Russian. This possibly saved her life when she was a POW in a Russian prison camp. When she was about to be sent to Siberia to work in the mines, where a large number of people died, the Russians discovered her ability to speak other languages and pulled her out to be an interpreter. During her life Helene experienced sadness and personal tragedies, especially during wartime in Germany, but she chose to live life with dignity and happiness. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Charlie, son Chuckie, her parents; her two brother's Bruno & Clements, and three sisters, Luzia, Gertrude, and Margerete.
She is survived by a number of friends who loved her and will greatly miss her.
Please sign the online guest book at www.bellmeadfuneralhome.com.