Visitation will be from 4 – 6 p.m. Monday, June 11, 2018 at Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana. Funeral services will immediately follow at 6 p.m. Monday at Bailey-Love Mortuary with Pastor Harold Smith officiating.
Preferred memorials are to Riley Children’s Health, in care of Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana, 46750.
Pat was born on May 31, 1944 in Portland, the daughter of Ernest and Opal (Roberts) Murphy. She was raised on a farm outside Bryant in Jay County. She graduated from Bryant High School in 1962 where she was a cheerleader and majorette. She married George Edward Runkel on February 22, 1963 in Jay County. Together they raised three children in Banquo before moving to a farm in rural Huntington County. There she enjoyed farm life, gardening, feeding fish at the pond, her many animals, dogs, cats, 4-H lambs, and horses. She lovingly worked as a homemaker and worked at The Shirt Shed in Wabash until her children told her they didn’t care about the money, they wanted her home. She was a member of Banquo Christian Church and a member of a quilting club; she especially enjoyed making quilts for her loved ones. She also gave presentations and loved to teach children about Indian life at the Historic Forks of the Wabash and Mississinewa 1812. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed making special meals for loved ones. She loved to go camping with family and friends and loved taking golf cart rides around the farm with her grandchildren. She also loved feeding hummingbirds and watching them eat. She enjoyed going to the Portland Engine Show and traveling to Florida as a “snowbird.”
Survivors include her husband of 55 years, George Edward Runkel of Andrews, daughters Kim Runkel and Jackie (Mitch) Hobbs, both of Huntington, a son, Patrick (Melanie) Runkel of Bluffton, grandchildren Kristie (Eric) McEntyre, Josh Donald, Kandi (Josh) Hale-Roseberry, Tom (Nakia) Hobbs, Chayton Foster, Dakota Foster, Levi Runkel, and Jacob Runkel, and great grandchildren Branden McEntyre, Lilly McEntyre, Skylar Donald, Alexis Donald, Dottie Hobbs, Kinlee Hobbs, Daphne Hobbs, Rosemary Hobbs, Leah Hale, and Jackson Roseberry. Also surviving are a sister, Barb (Jerry) Kiepher of Muncie, a brother, Randy (Dianne) Murphy of Portland, sisters-in-law Sue Murphy of Portland and Beulah Murphy of Bluffton, and a lifelong friend, Penny Hons. She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers Tom Murphy, Wendal Murphy, and Michael Murphy, and a granddaughter, Samantha Foster.
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