Submitted by the Murrill family

Betty Jean (Cameron) Murrill, 91, passed away Sept. 14, due to complications from congestive heart failure.

A long-time community leader in the Orange County civic affairs, Murrill was a frequent contributor at the Orange City Council and other public meetings. She supported efforts to preserve and enhance Old Towne Orange, and was a longtime member of the Old Towne Preservation Association.

Suffering from Parkinson’s disease in recent years, she had recently moved from Orange to Los Angeles County to be near her daughter.

Family and friends described Murrill as feisty preservation supporter.

“Such a dear and precious person is Betty and one of Old Towne’s great champions,”  said Councilwoman Tita Smith.

She also loved politics, and would go rounds with anyone willing to debate her progressive point of view.

“Betty always had my back regarding political discussions among our friends,” said Greg Lepore, 57, Orange. “She was a really dedicated liberal/progressive voice in deepest darkest Republican Orange County.  At her age, this really impressed me.  I will really miss her.”

Before retirement,  Murrill worked for the County of Orange, managing a County water district office in North Tustin/East Orange. She was active with the League of Women Voters and played a key role in finding a home for the Torana House next to the Bowers Museum.

Murrill’s biography is listed in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, Seneca Falls, NY.

She was born and grew up in Montpelier, Ohio Oct. 1, 1917. Her father, George A. Cameron, emigrated from Canada and worked as a railroad conductor on the Wabash Railroad. He died when she was 9, and her mother, Grace Needham Cameron, opened a beauty salon in her home to support Betty and a son, George Albert Jr.

An “A” student in high school, Murrill attended two years of nursing school at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where, as a student nurse, she met her future husband, engineering student James H. Murrill.  The two later married during World War II, when James was on leave from the U.S. Army.

After the war, her husband was recruited by North American Aviation in Downey to work in the nation’s burgeoning aerospace industry and the couple and their young daughter, Victoria, moved to California from Bryan, Ohio.

Betty became active as a volunteer in the Downey Children’s Theater and school programs, and worked part-time for Downey Parks and Recreation. A second daughter, Mary Beth, was born in Downey.

When her husband started work on NASA’s moon program in Anaheim, the family relocated to North Tustin in1960. Widowed in 1978, she moved to Old Towne Orange in 1987.

Murrill is survived by daughter Victoria, Victoria’s partner, Dan, daughter Mary Beth, son-in-law David, step daughter-in-law Connie, grandson Macgregor, step-grandchildren Gregory, Kathryn, Joel and Nic.