loneta mangus murphy

May 30, 1924 --- October 2, 2008
Loneta Mangus Murphy left us on October 2, 2008.
She was born in Cowley, Wyoming on May 30, 1924; the fourth daughter of Agness Berthelson Mangus and Elbert Roy Mangus. After she graduated from Lovell High School, she went to Salt Lake City to work at Remington Arms Plant. Later, after attending Brigham Young University, she moved to Long Beach, California where she was employed at the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation.
Loneta met a marine, Joseph Robison Murphy at church. They married in 1946 and five children were born to their union. Joe became a seasonal Ranger Naturalist in Yellowstone National Park where they spent many summers, while they wintered in Lincoln, Nebraska where Joe worked on his doctorate degree. With an offer from Brigham Young University in 1960, they moved to Provo, Utah, where Loneta attended classes in English Literature, Geology, Sociology and Political Science.
In 1972 she, with other women in the area, formed a Utah County League of Women Voters. An historical event, the 1848 Women's Convention held at Seneca Falls, New York inspired her to actively support Equal Rights for Women. The Equality Statement in Utah's Constitution of 1896 gave her reason to work for a national amendment from 1972 to 1982. Utah failed to ratify the E.R.A.
After participating in local forums, Loneta withdrew from community activism. For health reasons in recent years, she wintered in Palm Springs, California, where she felt very much at home.
A Memorial service will be held from 1:00 to 2:00 PM on Monday, October 13, 2008, at the Orem Senior Friendship Center located at 93 North 400 East Orem, Utah. An informal gathering of family and friends will follow from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Friends are welcome to visit with her daughter Gayle Cornaby, (husband Kaye), her sons Joel Murphy, (wife Sharon), Robert Murphy, James David Murphy, (partner Glenn Texeira), and Philip Murphy, (wife Miriam) and their children and grandchildren. She has one living sister Jewel Hepworth, and two brothers, LeRoy and Wallace Mangus.
The family wishes to express deep gratitude to doctors and staff in Palm Springs, California and Provo, Utah, as well as the attentive staff of Harmony Hospice in Utah County. Additional heart-felt thanks goes to the many close friends and neighbors who have been supportive during her recent illness.
Life for Loneta was a great experience. She made it creative and loving to the end.

who was grandma to me? the color purple, a rose, a leopard, a horseback rider, a liberalist, an activist, educated, smart, elegant, and one more thing ... hollywood! to name just a few!