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Muriel McNamara Obituary


MURIEL SMITH MCNAMARA
September 11, 1933 ~ December 22, 2017

Muriel was born in Portland, OR on Sept. 11, 1933, to Henry Merle Smith and Cora Brooks Smith. That date was the second anniversary of her parents' meeting - her mother called it the greatest anniversary gift she could give. Muriel passed away on Fri., Dec. 22, 2017.
During her pre-school years, Muriel and her parents lived on a small farm outside of Hillsboro (which her grandfather Smith had claimed as a homestead when the family moved to Oregon) as well as spending a period of two years in Sandy, OR. Her love of birds and animals, picnics, drives in the country and "all things nature" must have come from that early exposure, for when it was time for school to begin, the family lived in Portland. Muriel attended Jefferson High School and took selected accounting/office management courses at Portland State.
The major portion of her career was spent managing the office for a publisher's representative in national trade magazine advertising sales. Muriel worked for a Portland firm representing five publishing houses, and when the head of the firm passed away unexpectedly, the business was acquired by one of the publishing houses and she went to work for what became Cahners Publishing Company, headquartered in Chicago. By the time she left, it had become a division of Reed Elsevier, a London-based conglomerate. Following that, Muriel and her husband owned a retail home electronics business on the Oregon coast. In 1991, they returned to the valley and settled in Vancouver.
She and her husband were active in St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Vancouver, WA, where she worked for some years as Assistant Treasurer. She also did desktop publishing, working out of her home.
Her beloved husband, Richard passed away in 2006. A half-sister and two half-brothers, as well as two nieces and two nephews, preceded her in death.
Muriel is survived by daughter, Sarah Tarnovsky; step-daughter, Janet Ellis; step-son, Rick McNamara; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; niece, Shelley Blaine of Arlington, WA; and nephew, Dan'l Adams of Ceres, CA.
Private interment was at Willamette National Cemetery.
Please sign her guest book at: www.columbian.com/obits.

Published by The Columbian on Dec. 31, 2017.
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Memories and Condolences
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2 Entries

May you have peace in your soul.
You were deeply loved by many, and now you are reunited with your two greatest loves - the Lord, and your adoring husband.

Sarah Tarnovsky

January 5, 2018

May the God who binds up the broken hearted and comfort all who mourns sustain your family during this challenging time. Isaiah 61:1,2
With sincere sympathy

AF

December 31, 2017

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