Ellavee Muriel Phelps, 75, died at her home in Dayton with family present on June 28, 2009. She was born to Ella and Fred Wilson on May 18, 1934, in Dallas, Texas.
Muriel graduated from Mount Diablo High School in Concord, Calif., in 1951 and received her bachelor of arts at Diablo Valley Community College in 1953. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi, and worked as a secretary at Crown Zellerbach for five years.
Muriel married James Douglass Phelps on August 16, 1959, and they lived in the Bay Area until they moved to Lake Tahoe in 1961. They moved to Carson City in 1971 and to Dayton in 2005.
She was a Past Worthy Matron of Esther Chapter No. 3, Order of Eastern Star in Carson City and also served as a docent at the Nevada State Museum for a number of years.
Muriel is survived by her husband, James; daughters Kelly (Eddie) Schittenhelm of Seward, Ark., Kimberly (Jack) Rhodes of Vancouver, Wash., and Shannon (Wayne) Cooper of Silver Springs, Nev.; her mother, Ella Wilson of Lodi, Calif.; sister Vicki Strickland of Klamath Falls, Ore.; five granddaughters and three great granddaughters.
A celebration of life will be held in September in Virginia City for family and friends, the date to be determined later. The family will have a private service.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions be made to Carson Tahoe Cancer Resource Center, P.O. Box 2168, Carson City, NV 89702 or a charity of your choice. FitzHenry's Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for arrangements.