Muriel Frances (Willan) Trumpour

It was during the early hours of May 4 that Muriel Trumpour took her last breath. Her first breath happened over one hundred years ago. She leaves to mourn - daughters Ivy Trumpour and Jack Twells, Jean and Rick Jones, Pat and Mary Ann Trumpour; grandchildren Mark and Linnea Jones, Bonnie and Lawrence Sim, Casey and Shauna Jones; great grandchildren Liam, Ada, Ray, Tucker and Kelly. Gone before were her husband Don Trumpour, parents Mark and Grace Willan, sister Nancy Verpy and baby sister Ruth Willan.

                Raised on her parents’ farm on the Bench north of Eastend, she rode horseback to a one room school. Her first three years of high school were by correspondence, and she lived with her Uncle Frank and Aunt Peggy in Abbey to take grade twelve. She excelled in maths and was a dedicated letter writer throughout her life. Having such skills meant that she had no need to go near a computer.

                Muriel attended Normal School in Moose Jaw to train as a teacher and began her teaching career in June of 1945, on Victory in Europe day. She taught at five different one room schools, the second started on Victory in Japan day. Her last school was Govenlock. As Andy McRae told it, she got off the train, looked around, and said, “I won’t be staying here long.” She met Donald Trumpour the following spring when he returned from winter employment in BC. They were married in December of 1949 in Muriel’s parents’ home in Eastend. After finishing the school year in Govenlock they bought the ranch south of Govenlock where they spent their entire married life, and raised their three children, Ivy, Jean and Pat.

                She learned to sew as a teenager, constructing and sometimes designing clothing for herself, friends and family. Along with knitting crocheting, cross stitching and other needle and thread skills, she constructed many useful and decorative items using imagination and found materials. It was often Muriel who created the drawings, posters and decorations for community activities. She usually held the secretary role in organizations, so that she was ineligible to be elected as president. She was a quiet and sympathetic listener to her many friends. Her pies and buns were a hit at bake sales and potlucks.

                Despite wind and drought, she could coax vegetable gardens and flowerbeds into production. Her fruit and other trees provided a prairie home for birds of many species. She used the garden hose to discourage the swallows from nesting in the eaves of the house, and in return, they dive bombed Muriel, not Don or Pat.

                The grandchildren enjoyed taking their turns visiting Cocoa Grandma and eagerly anticipated the morning pancakes. Over the years, Muriel and Don were able to travel to BC, Ontario, the US and England to tour and visit relatives.

                When Muriel’s life began, horsepower was mainly the four hoofed kind, messages were delivered in person, locals were responsible for building schools and hiring teachers, doctors were paid in cash, babies were born at home. During the dirty thirties, thistles blew across the prairies and grasshoppers ate clothing off the line. Muriel survived and thrived. She left this world content in the knowledge that she contributed as best she could.

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