Cloudy, 53° F
(Sept. 15, 2005)
Memorial services will be conducted today (Thursday, Sept. 22) at 10:30 a.m. at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody for Marie Ries Feeley Murray, 90, who died Friday, Sept. 15 at West Park Long Term Care Center in Cody.
She was born Jan. 29, 1915, to John P. and Mary Ries in Oak Park, Ill. She was the youngest of four brothers and one sister. The family moved to Wyoming and homesteaded southeast of Powell before Marie was a year old. She grew up on the family farm and attended school in Powell, graduating from Powell High School in 1932.
She returned to Illinois where she graduated from Western Suburban School of Nursing in Oak Park in 1938. She then came back to Wyoming where she began her lifelong career as a nurse, starting in the Powell school system and working intermittently for Park County’s Wyoming Department of Health. In 1951, she began her full-time career as Park County Public Health Nurse.
One of her most memorable accomplishments was being named Wyoming’s “Public Health Nurse of the Year’ In 1973. She served as Park County Public Health Nurse for 28 years. In the early years she regularly visited the county’s 14 public schools, along with calls on many Park County homes, helping and advising on all types of ailments.
She married Bill Feeley, who co-owned and operated Feeley Brothers Redi-Mix in Cody. They were married for many happy years and raised three sons.
After Bill’s death in 1966, she met and married Hansen Murray in June of 1972. They made their home on Green Creek in the Wapiti Valley. Marie retired from nursing in 1979 so she and Hansen could spend their lives together, traveling in their motor home, gardening, camping and entertaining friends.
Marie was a great friend to the elderly. She was on the original committee that started the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and she was also a member of the group that started the Rolling Meals program in Cody. She helped to develop what is now known as Cody’s Senior Center where she served on the board for many years.
By appointment of the governor, she was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging and represented the council in Washington, D.C.
Marie had many hobbies, but little spare time. Besides her full-time nursing job, she was also the bookkeeper for Feeley Brothers Redi-Mix. She belonged to the Cody chapter of BPOE Does and served a term as president. She loved to cook and garden and even tried her hand at sewing and quilting.
Very proud and devoted to her three sons, she rarely missed one of their sporting events. She was dedicated and successful in everything she attempted. She worked countless hours for what she believed in, spreading her wonderful humor, friendly disposition and kind words for everyone. She was a giving person and leaves behind many friends.
She is survived by her three sons, Bill (Joyce) Feeley, John (Pam) Feeley and Ted (Lynn) Feeley, all of Cody; her brother, Joseph Ries of Powell; step-children, Mike, Bruce and Lynn Murray and Audrey Painter; five grandchildren, Tiffani Jackson, Cort Feeley, Heather Feeley and Wendy Glick, all of Cody, and Mandy Barry of Laramie; and seven great-grandchildren.
Cremation has taken place. For those who wish, the family would appreciate memorials to the Cody Senior Center. Her family would like to invite friends and loved ones to a reception following the service at the Sunset House in Cody.
