Zola Fairley McMurray

Died 9/13/2015

Zola Lee (Fairley) McMurray, a resident of the Washington, DC area for the last 15 years, died Sunday, September 13, at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia after a valiant battle against cancer.

Zola was born November 4, 1939, in Corvallis, Oregon, to Zoel and Elsie (Snyder) Fairley. She attended school in Orofino and graduated from Lewiston High School in 1957. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority in Moscow and received a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Idaho in 1961 with an Idaho secondary teaching certificate for business and English.

Zola taught high school business classes at Deary High, Boise High and Lewiston High Schools during the early 1960s. She was a legal secretary for a law firm in Idaho Falls before she and her husband bought Fairley's Flowers and Gardens from her parents in Lewiston in 1969.

She was a past president of the Lewiston Service League; a member and vice president of the Board of Directors of the Lewiston Independent School District #1; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Northwest Educational Lab in Portland, Oregon.

In 2000, she and her husband moved to Washington, DC where she worked for the United States Senate. In 2007, she retired as Chief Clerk of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Having grown up in the floral business and being a professional florist for over two decades, Zola’s home was always full of fresh cut flowers. She was active in numerous community associations and housing boards, enjoyed her “Someday Bridge Group,” and loved to travel and play golf. She had a wonderful smile that could light up a room.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Ron McMurray in Alexandria; son, Dan (Michelle) in Chicago; son, Doug (Kathy) in Boise; daughter, Cari (Steve) Murphy in Lewiston; and five grandchildren, Lynzi, Casey, Dylan, Ryder and Lauren.

There will be a private family graveside service at Normal Hill Cemetery in Lewiston on Saturday, October 3 followed by a celebration of Zola’s life at 12:00 PM at the Clarkston Event Center, 841 Sixth Street, Clarkston, Washington.

Malcom’s Brower-Wann Funeral Home of Lewiston, Idaho is in charge of arrangements. Please sign the online guest book or send condolences at www.malcomsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/zola-mcmurray