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1928 Luella 2022

Luella (Lu) Murphy Schiller

August 30, 1928 — July 28, 2022

Luella L. (Zahn) Murphy-Schiller of Highlands Ranch, CO, and formerly of Aberdeen, SD passed
peacefully with her daughter Mary and sister Rose Mary by her side on July 28, 2022.


A Catholic mass will be held at St. Francis Cabrini Church on August 24, 2022, at 1:30 pm
Mountain Time. Horan and McConaty Mortuary, Centennial, CO, is handling arrangements.


Luella (Lu) was born to Anton and Rose (Eberle) Zahn on August 30, 1928, in Napoleon, ND. She
grew up in Firesteel, SD, and attended Warner country school. She and her siblings lived on a
farm in a two-room sod house built by her dad.


She attended Timber Lake high school and graduated from Monango high school, Monango, ND.
She then attended Ellendale Industrial College in Ellendale, ND, to learn accounting and
administrative skills. After school, Lu moved to Aberdeen, SD, to become a bookkeeper at Lust
Chevrolet.


She married Marvin Murphy on December 20, 1951, and they made their home in Aberdeen.
Marvin passed away on June 12, 1999.


Lu worked at Presentation College for many years. She started as a secretary in the nursing
dept. and was later promoted to Administrative Assistant to the president of Presentation
College. Lu then went to First Bank, where she was the administrative assistant to the bank
president. She retired from First Bank and soon after was coaxed into going back to work at
Great Western Bank.


After she retired a second time, she volunteered at Avera St. Luke's Hospital for several years.


She loved being a member of Sacred Heart church. She was an active volunteer, a member of
Altar Society and Band 8, and often a Lector. She especially loved working at the annual bazaar
dinners. During retirement, she attended Mass daily and always enjoyed saying the Rosary with
her evening prayers.


She was an avid and skillful Bridge player. She won prizes at many bridge gatherings, usually 1st
or 2nd place. Her dementia had progressed when she was teaching her daughter Mary how to
play. While being Mary's opponent, Mary laid down the wrong card. Lu told her so, and Lu was
correct.


Nothing made Lu's smile brighter and bigger than when she was with her brothers and sisters. There
was singing, dancing, playing cards, and even a little of her sister Lorraine’s homemade hooch
when they were together.


Eugene Schiller and Luella were married on May 9, 2012, in Sioux Falls, SD. Gene passed away
on October 12, 2015.

Survivors include her children; Jon (Peg) Murphy of Carmel, IN; LuAnn (Don) Murphy-Goldstone of Los Angeles, CA and Mary Murphy of Centennial, CO; her sisters, Rose Mary (Zahn) Nelson of Littleton, CO; Lucille (Zahn) Romanella of Scottsdale, AZ; her brother Anthony Zahn of Kansas City, MO, and many loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son Jeffrey of Redondo Beach, CA; her sister Lorraine Scheele of Ipswich, SD; her brothers, Jerome Zahn of Aberdeen, SD; Elmer Zahn of Aberdeen, SD; Richard Zahn of Red Oak, TX, and her niece Barb Scheele. Memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Luella (Lu) Murphy Schiller, please visit our flower store.

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