Murel Francis Clancey

Murel Francis “MF” Clancey, 92, died peacefully of natural causes on July 10, 2013. He was born in Wolf Point, Mont., on Nov. 23, 1920, to Walter and Nellie (Ford) Clancy. They moved to Havre when he was about 2 years old, where he lived the rest of his life except for his college years, his Navy service during World War II and the past five years when he lived at Generations Assisted Living in Ennis. His family and his Catholic faith were the foundation of his life.

Murel was a retired U.S. Navy Commander. During his active naval service he was posted in New Guinea, the Philippines and China, where he was a supply clerk with the 115 Construction Battalion (Seabees). He continued to serve in the Naval Reserves until 1967. He was a member of the inaugural Big Sky Honor Flight in June 2012.

While in the Navy, he met Lt. Kathrine Rose Rynd, U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, on a blind date in Virginia before both were deployed to the Pacific Theatre. They married on Jan. 4, 1947, at Sacred Heart Church in Charleston, W.Va., and settled in Havre where he was the assistant general manager of the Hill County Electric and Triangle Telephone cooperatives for 38 years until his retirement in August 1984.

He was active in

St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church and school, and in the Havre community.  MF and Katie had seven children, Michael (Beth) of Grove City, Pa., Sheila of Bellevue, Wash., Mary (Wayne) Mangold of Plevna, Mont., Martha (Mike) O’Farrell of Bellevue, Idaho, Christopher (Tara) of Hamilton, Mont., Patrick (Beverly) of Ennis, Mont., and John. They have five grandsons, eight granddaughters and six great-grandchildren.

Murel and Katie dedicated much of their lives and made many sacrifices to raise their children, including putting all of them through college.  They were model parents to the extent that their children often comment that they try to raise their own “the way that Mom and Dad did.”

Murel worked extra jobs to help make ends meet, but always had time to treat his visiting children and grandchildren to a walk and late-night snack at the local restaurants, no matter how inclement the weather. The children never doubted their parents’ commitment to the family. In his later years at the care facility, Murel often commented that the best part of having his children visit was that they would see their siblings again. His spiritual and emotional strength bound his family together.

Murel was generous to his chosen charities and never valued possessions to a large extent. An honorable, selfless, compassionate man, he was most comfortable simply enjoying family. His keen sense of humor and calm demeanor were present until the very end.

His wife, Katie; parents; siblings, Kenneth (KC), Kathleen and Robert; newborn son, John; and grandson, Matthew Mangold, preceded him in death.

Cremation has occurred. A rosary will take place at Holland & Bonine Funeral Home on Friday, July 19, at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church on Saturday, July 20, at 10 a.m. Interment will be next to his beloved Katie in the Veterans section of Highland Cemetery in Havre, immediately after the funeral.  

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements, and you can leave your memories/condolences at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

The family extends its most sincere gratitude to Kenton, Barb, Judy and all the staff at Generations for their wonderful care, sense of humor and ceaseless efforts to entertain and care for our dad.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation be made to St Jude’s Education Trust Fund, the Jesuits, Rocky Boy Mission or the Big Sky Honor Flight.  Condolences may be sent to: c/o Chris Clancy, 620 South 3rd St., Hamilton, MT 59840.