Ruth Murgoitio

1929 - 2018

Ruth Marie Murgoitio
1929 ~ 2018
The youngest of eight children, Ruth was born to Paul and Osa (Karns) Paxton on March 10, 1929 on a farm near Mullinville, Kansas. Her family experienced the hardships of the Dust Bowl and she walked to a one room school house for grades 1 to 8.
In 1943, she moved with her family to Middleton, Idaho. In June 1946, she attended a dance at Liberty Grange and met a handsome Basque farmer named Joseph Murgoitio. She didn't know what a Basque was, but he had a nice smile and he could dance. The daughter of a farmer, she understood that helping him fulfill his dream of raising livestock would require sacrifice and hard work. They married in January, 1947. As partners, they raised livestock and four kids on their ranch off Lake Hazel and Locust Grove in rural Meridian. Ruth worked with Joe as a true and irreplaceable partner in all parts of farm life for 52 years. She served as secretary, accountant, veterinary assistant, head chef, truck driver and weigh station master. She rose before dawn to feed cows and her work continued until after dark when she helped with irrigation. Most importantly, Ruth was a dedicated wife and compassionate mother and grandmother.
She also had heart for service and was a devout member of the Catholic Church. She was an active member of the Women's Altar Society at the first Catholic Church in Meridian, St. Francis Cabrini, where she baked and donated homemade sour cream raisin pies for many church events. She also prepared meals, taught Catechism classes and served on a team that regularly cleaned the church. As Meridian grew, her work continued at the new Holy Spirit Church, and later Holy Apostles Catholic Church. She enjoyed the many friendships she made at the Young at Heart church group.
She also helped in the community by serving on the election board and counting ballots at Southside Elementary School (later renamed Mary McPherson) where her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren would attend school over the years.
Her special gift in her later years was delivering a homemade birthday cake to each family member, which kept her busy 40 days of the year. Ruth peacefully passed away on November 10, 2018 at the age of 89. Her legacy of love and service will be carried on by her children: Jim (Lea) Murgoitio, Chris Warner, Gary (Linda) Murgoitio, Mary Jo (Scott) Dickson; 11 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
On Saturday, November 17th a viewing will begin at 10:00 AM with the rosary to follow at 10:30 AM. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, services will be held at Holy Apostles Catholic Church, 6300 N. Meridian Rd. in Meridian. A private family committal service will be held at Meridian Cemetery. Remembrances may be left for the family on Ruth's webpage at www.AccentFuneral.com. Services are under the direction of Accent Funeral Home, Meridian, (208) 888-5833.