Murrel Cooke

Murrel Cooke passed away peacefully at her home in Victor, Idaho at the age of 92 on August 19, 2026.

Born in Lovell, Wyoming on January 20, 1934, Olive Murrel (Humble) Cooke was the 10th child of William Henry and Agnes May (Campbell) Humble. Five brothers and four sisters were awaiting her arrival, ready to care, teach, and love her dearly. That spring, the Humble family moved back home to Victor, Idaho to continue a farming way of life

Each and every day involved constant farm work, such as tending to the animals, hand milking the cows, harvesting the hay crop with a team of horses, and getting firewood for the long winter months. As soon as a tractor was purchased, Murrel learned to drive it with all the added machinery. A quote from her autobiography states,”If you have never smelled the aroma of new mown hay, you have missed one of the finer things of life.”

Laundry day required filling a 10 gallon milk can with water from the canal, getting the heavy can back to the house, heating the water, then scrubbing laundry on a scrub board. Making bread and butter was a must, because it was served at almost every meal. Murrel learned to make beautiful yummy loaves of bread along with hand churned butter. In the winter the canal would freeze over, forming a great place for ice skating. Snow skiing behind the hay wagon always added an element of fun.

If ever Murrel found some “free time” she and her friends would ride their horses bareback through town and in the mountains. They found ditches to jump, creeks to cross, and fields to run through.

Murrel graduated from Teton High School in 1952. She participated in Glee Club and basketball. Confidentially, Murrel shared, she didn’t much care for school and would purposely “play hooky!”

In 1953, Murrel married Larry Cooke in the Idaho Falls Temple, where they were sealed together for time and all eternity. In 1965 they purchased eighty acres in Victor, fulfilling a dream of Larry’s. Murrel wasn’t sure she wanted to return to the difficult life of farming and ranching, but she faced the challenge head on and together they built their Warm Creek Ranch legacy.

Some of her favorite hobbies were quilting, scrapbooking, family history and following grandkids to their activities. She loved cross-country skiing in nearby canyons and mountains with friends.

She started piano lessons about the same time as her granddaughters. Her true passion was mowing her lawn to perfection and growing beautiful flowers, creating stunning flower beds, and arranging gorgeous floral centerpieces. For special occasions she loved to design centerpieces for her home. When she served as a counselor in the Relief Society she would design a centerpiece to take for the table each Sunday.

Murrel served in multiple leadership roles in the Victor Ward and Driggs Idaho Stake; Primary President, Young Womens Mutual President, Stake Primary Counselor, and Stake Relief Society Presidency. With each calling she served faithfully, giving her best.

She was a strong, independent, out-spoken lady. She maintained high expectations for herself, her sons and her grandchildren. She was a hard worker with a strong work ethic and was an example to her family.

To leave this life peacefully while in her home was Granny’s wish. She has joined her companion, Larry, along with her parents, siblings, granddaughter Angela Ly Cooke and great grandbaby Wylie Cooke. Remaining here are her sons, Kim (Jannifer), Brett (Anita), and Casey (Jacki), 13 grandchildren, and 29 great grandchildren.

Friends and family are invited to a program and a luncheon on Friday, August 28, 2026 at 11:30 at the Victor Church Cultural Room.