Mary Jane BraunCHILLICOTHE - Mary Jane Braun (Murphy), 84, of Chillicothe died on Sunday Oct. 15, 2017, at Heritage Health in Chillicothe.She was born on January 7, 1933, in Peoria to James A. and Rena V. (Newell) Murphy. Surviving are two sons, Lee (Sarah) Braun and Dean (Candi) Braun, both of Chillicothe; and one daughter, Sue (Donald) Hoffman of rural Chillicothe. Also surviving are her brothers, Jack D. Murphy of Sparland and James L. "Jimmy" Murphy of Peoria; as well as seven grandchildren.She was preceded in death by her parents.Mary Jane graduated from Chillicothe Township High School, Class of 1950. She later attended several classes at Illinois Central College.Mary Jane worked at Ben Franklin, J.C. Penney, Parkhill Nursing Home and Coast to Coast Hardware, all in Chillicothe. She also worked at Caterpillar, BB Plant, in Mossville, and several years as the Secretary at the First United Methodist Church in Chillicothe, where she was a lifetime member. Mary Jane was previously a member of the Chillicothe Historical Society and the Pearce Community Center, served several years as an election judge and was a committee member for Boy Scout Troop 91 in Chillicothe.Mary Jane was well-known for baking angel food birthday cakes. According to an article written by Jack L. Bradley in 2009 for the Chillicothe Independent, it was estimated she had made around 6000 cakes over 20 years and hand delivered them to family and friends in the Chillicothe area. Mary Jane loved taking care of her grandchildren who were the "Joy of Her Life." She will be greatly missed.Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m., with visitation from 1 to 3 p.m. at Weber-Hurd Funeral Home in Chillicothe. The Rev. R. Martz will officiate.In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the , Hospice and the First United Methodist Church in Chillicothe.Mary Jane's online website may be viewed at
www.weberhurdfuneralhome.com.
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