Obituary of Muriel Hurl
HURL: Muriel
Passed away peacefully at PRHC with family by her side, on January 24, 2023. Muriel Hurl (née Windebank) of Lakefield, in her 103rd year. Beloved wife of the late Donald Raymond Hurl (d.1994). Loving mother of John (sherelene), Muriel Pulsford (d. Derek), Pam Irwin (John McCrea), Ron (Kathy), Don, and Rick (Shirley). Dear grandmother of 14, great-grandmother of 20 and great-great-grandmother of 13. Muriel was born in Lyndhurst, Hants England. She left school at age 14 and was training as a tailoress when the Second World War broke out in 1939, changing life as it had been. Muriel joined the war effort by enrolling in a training centre at Hythe shipyards, to build wooden decks on boats. She became a skilled carpenter and would later turn her hand to anything in the household needing repair with a hammer or needle. An avid dancer, there were always willing partners with the many servicemen stationed in the area. It was at one of the many wartime dances, that she met and fell in love with Canadian serviceman Don Hurl, a young sapper in the Royal Canadian Engineers. They were married in February 1945. She followed him to his hometown and became Lakefield’s first war bride. For the next 77 years, she made Lakefield her home. Before COVID, Muriel enjoyed coffee at Tim Horton’s with her friends Sandy, Diane and Shelley, as well as line dancing and red hatting in later years. She was still line dancing well into her late 90’s. Always an active child, she earned the nickname “Bunny”, for her running and jumping abilities, and she spent many of her children’s formative years building high jumps in the back yard and joining the neighbourhood kids using them. Besides her beloved Don, Muriel is predeceased by her loving parents Charlie (William Charles) and Jenny (née Riglin) Windebank, her brothers Charlie (Joan), George (Joan), son-in-law Derek Pulsford, and grandson Terry Hurl.
The family wish to thank the ambulance attendants, the medical staff in the Emergency Department and floor A5 of the hospital, for the excellent care Muriel received. Arrangements entrusted to THE HENDREN FUNERAL HOMES LAKEFIELD CHAPEL, 66 QUEEN STREET. A celebration of life will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 77, 10 Nicholls Street Lakefield, on Sunday February 5th, 2023 from 1:00PM-4:00PM. As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations may be made to Lakefield Animal Welfare Society or Animal Rescue Krew, by visiting www.hendrenfuneralhome.com, or by calling 705 652-3355.