GURGANUS, Muriel Ruth, 88, passed away on October 23, 2013, during heart surgery, in Winter Park, Florida. Muriel was born at her home in Little Washington (Beaufort County), North Carolina, on February 22, 1925. Her parents, Jimmy and Mertie Roberson, were farmers who grew tobacco, beans, corn, and cotton. As a child in Little Washington, Muriel walked to a two-room school house. Since she and her sister, Glenis, were the younger children, their job was to keep the chickens out of the corn while her older siblings worked the crops with her parents. Muriel met her future husband, Irving D. Gurganus, at a Saturday night barn dance where he was playing fiddle with the band. They were married on December 4, 1945, at a friend’s house in Little Washington. They relocated to Richmond, Va. as Irving began playing fiddle with the Westernaires and Sunshine Sue on the Old Dominion Barn Dance radio show. In the 1960s, Muriel won several awards and trophies bowling with “The Early Birds.” After her son, Tim, went to junior high school, Muriel took a job with the Richmond Tupperware office of Beacon Sales, where she worked until her retirement. When her husband, Irving, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005, her son and daughter-in-law welcomed them to their home in Winter Park. After Irving passed away in September 2005, Muriel continued to live in Winter Park until her death. Muriel is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Tim and Lisa Gurganus of Winter Park, Fla.; and by her sister, Glenis Andreoli of Little Washington, N.C. She was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Irving D. Gurganus; her sister, Audrey Edwards; and her brothers, Roy Roberson, James Roberson and Willie Roberson. The family will receive friends at Bennett Funeral Home, 11020 West Broad Street, Glen Allen, Va. 23060 on Friday, November 1, from 4 to 8 p.m. A graveside service will will take place Saturday, November 2, at 1 p.m. at Westhampton Memorial & Cremation Park, 10000 Patterson Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23238.