Mary A. McMurray

1926 - 2019

Mary A. McMurray

Ventura - Mary Antoinette McMurray, known affectionately as "Babe" passed away on

August 11, 2019 at the age of ninety-two. She was born to Pete and Mary Pisanelli Daley on October 5, 1926, in Lima, Ohio where she was raised along with her six siblings. Babe was always very proud of her Italian heritage.

At the young age of 18, she and her best friend, Angie, drove cross-country from Ohio to beautiful sunny California and settled in Pasadena. Her friend returned to Ohio; however, Babe decided to stay in California, where she met her future husband, William "Mac" McMurray.

Married in 1949, they settled in Oxnard, and over the years, enjoyed many good times with friends and neighbors and had two children, Margo and Denny. In those days, there were lots of neighborhood parties, card games, dancing, and visiting while the children played freely outside. Every summer, she and Mac drove back to Ohio to visit Babe's large family - parents, brothers and sisters, and numerous nieces and nephews. Also, many of those same relatives visited her in California and thus, annual trips to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, the beach, and driving the coastline to show off California.

She worked for many years in the Credit Dept. at Sears, and also at Channel Islands High School in the attendance office until her retirement.

Babe was a strong woman, and having been widowed at the young age of 46, you could see her over the years, washing windows, mowing her lawn, lifting heavy bags in and out of her trunk, digging holes, washing her car, and doing stuff usually reserved for a man. She was extremely proud of what she had accomplished, and bought and sold several homes over the years. She would always say, "Mac would be proud of me." Her strength and active lifestyle are admired by those who remember her in their memories.

Mary "Babe" was always full of life and wanted to be on the go constantly. She loved shopping, cooking and you could often find her reading through recipe books. She loved baking pies and cookies, See's Peanut Crunch, maple bars, ice cream cones, entertaining, attending garage sales and swap meets, and the Lakers. She also loved working in her yard, tending to her roses and growing vegetables. Knitting, country line dancing, playing poker and Bunco, and spending time with family and friends were some of her favorite things to do. Even when she was in her 80's, you could walk into her house, and you would hear Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond, Keith Urban, and Barbra Streisand playing on her stereo full blast. She also attended many of their concerts.

Some of her favorite memories were lunches and dinners with friends, and trips to Oregon and Palm Springs with her girlfriends. Some of her favorite memories were taking her grandchildren to the beach, and camping and waterskiing trips to Lake Nacimiento. She would often brag about how she taught all of their friends, and their children how to water ski.

However, she always held special in her heart the times spent in Sarasota with her brother and sisters who all owned winter homes, and would meet there every year. They all shared meals together, walked the beautiful white sandy beach, and collected seashells. Babe has thousands of shells she turned into picture frames, mirrors, shell baskets, lamps, and anything else you could glue a shell on.

She always acted and dressed younger than her years. As her health declined over the years, it was very hard for her not to be able to do many of the things she always enjoyed, and to ask for help for things she was always able to do herself. Because of the strong woman she was, she overcame many serious illnesses.

She was preceded in death by her husband "Mac"; her parents; brother Frank, and sisters Vinnie, Bessie, and Lucy. It was very sad for her when the daily phone calls to her sisters stopped, due to their passing.

Babe is survived by her children Margo (Brent) Attebery, and Denny (Brenda) McMurray; grandchildren Jennifer (Brent) Dill, Amy (Chris) Aguilar, Dennis McMurray, Phillip (Katie) Attebery, and Jena (John) Burdick, 11 great grandchildren, as well as her loyal companion cat, "CJ". Also, survived by her are two brothers, Tarz and Louie, both in Ohio, and many nieces and nephews, some of which held a special place in her heart - Gerry, Nancy, and Barb.

The family would also like to recognize the good friendships that she so enjoyed over the years, with Tom and Tot, Eva, Elaine and Bill, Carol Lee and Ken, Thelma, and Kathi. She also made many new friends at the Ventura Townhouse, and numerous friends through her poker and Bunco parties.

At her request and in respect of mom's wishes, there will be no funeral service. She will be cremated, and her ashes sprinkled at a later date. A donation to a local animal shelter would make mom happy, as she had an endless love for animals and would stop and talk to them no matter where she was.

She will be dearly missed and never forgotten.