Myrtle Morphew

Myrtle Gae was born on January 29, 1919 to Emil and Allie Bitker in Ventura, Iowa. Not too long after her birth, the family moved to southwestern Minnesota in the area between Marshall and Redwood Falls.
When Myrtle was a child, she attended grade school in Milroy, MN. In the winter, Myrtle and her siblings would try to time their arrival at the end of the driveway so they could catch a neighbora�(TM)s sleigh ride and use their blankets to keep warm on the way to school, as her dad didna�(TM)t believe in letting the kids get used to the easy life.
Myrtle also experienced the cowboy life. The family would have a cattle drive (and Ia�(TM)m not talking about using a truck) from the family farm near Milroy to Granite Falls in order to get the cattle to better pasture land.
When Myrtle attended high school in Wabasso, MN, she stayed in town for the week. She cleaned the persona�(TM)s home for room and board in addition to doing her homework. She graduated from Wabasso High School 1936.
At times Myrtle would stay out late on Friday nights and then had to do field work in the morning. She would be so tired that she would fall asleep while driving the team of horses. Lucky for her, the horses already knew how to plow the field.
There were times when Myrtle was younger that it would snow so much that she would have to hang the washed clothes on the power lines going to the house. She would also slide off the barn roof when the snow got really deep.
When she lived on the family farm near Lamberton, MN, she caught the eye of Winfred Morphew, the youngest son of Cyrus and Myrtle Morphew. Winfred was a hired hand of her father. Myrtle and Winfred were married on her 19th birthday, January 29, 1938, in Redwood Falls, MN.
Myrtle and Winfred lived above the bar and pool hall in Milroy, MN. Myrtle said the nights were sometimes noisy and a few of the popular songs of the late 1930a�(TM)s were quite annoying, especially after hearing them over and over several times a day.
On December 7, 1938, Myrtle had Arlys Arlene in Lamberton, MN. Janice Carrol was born July 27, 1941 in Springfield, MN. On November 13, 1942 Harold Gordon was born in Springfield, MN. Eleven years later, Duaine Winfred was born December 29, 1953 in Minneapolis, MN.
In the 1940a�(TM)s Myrtle and Winfred moved to Minneapolis. Myrtle was mainly a homemaker. By todaya�(TM)s standards, the family would have been considered poor. She worked several part-time jobs over the years to help make ends meet.
Winfred and Myrtle had finally scrimped and saved enough money to buy a home in the brand new suburb of Fridley. The house cost $8,000 and the interest rate was 3%. Fridley still had several working farms very close to their home. It was at this time that the family joined Redeemer Lutheran Church.
In the early 1960a�(TM)s Myrtle took a job at the main Daytona�(TM)s Department Store in downtown Minneapolis as a pricer in the shoe department.
In the mid 1960a�(TM)s Myrtle and Winfred purchased a cabin on Lawrence Lake in Outing, MN. Myrtle and Winfred spent nearly every weekend and at least one month of the summer at the cabin. It became the attraction for family and friends to be invited to spend time together.
Myrtle and Winfred began building their dream retirement home at the lake. The basement of the new cabin was finished and capped off. The new basement was now open for business for people to stay in. However, the cabin was not without its own set of disappointments and challenges.
Shortly after the new cabin was ready, Myrtle commented that some of the trees needed to be trimmed to allow a better view of the lake out of the picture windows. Within a few weeks, Myrtle, Winfred, her sister Florence, brother-in-law Francis, and many of the kids were in the new cabin when, without any warning, the property was hit by a tornado that removed several trees. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the buildings were not damaged, but many of the trees were gone.
In August of 1969, a second, more powerful tornado hit the area and 10 people were killed. The cabin was unoccupied at the time. The roof was blown off and the front block basement wall facing the lake was blown in. The other block walls were severely cracked. Financially, Myrtle and Winfred never got the money to replace their dream home and instead built a scaled-down new cabin.
Also, around this same time, Winfred became fully disabled due to emphysema. Unexpectedly, Myrtle and Winfred were retired and had an abundance of time and a teenaged son their hands. God was about to intervene in a way that no one anticipated. A young youth pastor, Ollie Olson, at Redeemer Lutheran asked Myrtle to help cook at the churcha�(TM)s summer camp called Faith Haven on Eagle Lake near Battle Lake, MN. However, there was a catch to the invitation, Myrtle was being trained as the head cook for the camp.
Myrtle had some conditions for accepting the job. If she did this, Winfred had to be able to come along a�" she had to keep an eye on him. Also, Duaine had to be a camp counselor so everyone could keep an eye on him. This began in 1969 and lasted through about 1975 or so. Myrtle became known as Ma and Winfred was Pa to all the staff and campers during that time. Her signature dish was bran muffins with maple syrup every Thursday morning, Muffin Morning.
1970 was a particularly bad summer. In a two week period, Myrtlea�(TM)s mother and daughter Janice passed away. Her mothera�(TM)s death was not so unexpected; however; Janicea�(TM)s death from a brain aneurysm was totally unexpected.
After Myrtle retired from being the camp cook, Duaine was through college and married. So after nearly 41 years of marriage, they were free of the kids! It was back to spending as much time as possible at the lake. From April through October it was difficult to find them at home except for doctor appointments.
Although Myrtle and Winfred had been community volunteers most of their lives, in 1985 they joined the Anoka County RSVP group. Myrtle and Winfred gave of their time and talents primarily through crafts and sewing. Just this year, Myrtle received her 25 years of service pin from RSVP. She was very proud of that that accomplishment and wore her pin proudly. The family made sure she had it on today.
In about 1986 or so, Myrtle had a major heart attack while at the cabin. She was taken to Crosby Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment. She spent a few days there while they stabilized her. Eventually, they released her to be transported to Anoka to Mercy Hospital. By the time she got to Mercy, she was having another heart attack. This one was much worse and her life was slipping away. But, as we know, God was not done with her yet. Myrtle had an angioplasty and she fully recovered.
A few years later, she had another milder heart attack, and once again she was treated with an angioplasty at Methodist Hospital.
She had other health problems along the way. A kidney was removed and her good kidney was beginning to fail. She had breast cancer. Lately, it was becoming increasingly hard for her to walk. She said her doctor told her never to stop because her activities were keeping her going. She clearly heeded his advice.
In the mid-1980a�(TM)s, Winfreda�(TM)s health began to slide as a result of his emphysema. As this progressed, Myrtlea�(TM)s life became totally dedicated to her husbanda�(TM)s care. A bright spot was their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1988. Myrtle and Winfred renewed their vows in the Redeemer Chapel and Myrtle received her first diamond ring from Winfred.
In July of 1995, her beloved Winfred passed away at home in his sleep.
After the death of a spouse, many go down hill quickly, but not Myrtle. In her case, it was like a rebirth. She had time on her hands and she filled every moment with something. Sewing, quilting, volunteering, Friendly Fridley folk and on and on.
How, Myrtle could sew. Quilts were her passion. In her house right now there are at least four sewing machines. Her entire downstairs is a veritable sewing factory. Quilts, quilt tops, pre-cut quilt squares, quilt backs and batting everywhere! A quilt is what she gave everyone for a special accession. Graduate, get a quilt. Get married, get a quilt. Have a baby, get a baby quilt. Christmas, get a lap quilt. An Intern completes their Redeemer assignment, get a quilt. She even planned ahead and has a quilt completed for her granddaughter Anna when she gets married.
For the Redeemer Quilters, Myrtle was the glue and driver behind the group. Recently, there was talk that Myrtle was getting tired and may leave the quilting group. As news spread, members were also talking about not returning. Myrtlea�(TM)s reaction was to tell everyone that she was NOT leaving and she expected everyone to come back and quilt in the fall. That was all there was to it.
Myrtle, by choice, lived by herself. She continued to be independent a�" make that self-reliant! She continued to drive. However, only between 9 am and 3 pm and only to church, the doctor and the senior center.
At the beginning of July, Myrtle was waiting for some volunteers from church to stain her deck. Because of all the recent rain storms, the staining kept being delayed. Myrtle decided that as long as she had the time, she might as well do it herself. She took a chair out on her deck, sat down, and stained the deck, little by little.
Myrtle was blessed with four children, 10 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.
Myrtle has been an example to all, especially her family, to never give up. Work through pain. Keep going no matter what the circumstances. Give everything your best shot. It takes work to live. Love the Lord. Never give up a�" never surrender! Her family found a saying in her house that sums up Myrtlea�(TM)s outlook on life. "Work for the Lord a�" His retirement plan is out of this world.
Many times we look at athletes or famous people to be our inspiration for overcoming adversity. We may all be better off if we look at the little old lady with gray hair and who is hunched over with osteoporosis as our hero and inspiration.
God bless you, Myrtle!
Funeral service 11 am Wednesday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 61 Mississippi Way, Fridley. Visitation 1 hour prior to service. Interment Morningside Memorial Gardens, Coon Rapids. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred.