Shelly was the embodiment of love. She had the brightest light that just poured out of her, and onto every soul she encountered. Always the ultimate ambassador of acceptance, generosity, and kindness. These were her core values, and there was not ever a stranger she encountered that didn’t feel at least one of these from her. She loved all. Openly and freely from such a pure place in her heart.
Rachelle Eloyce Myhre was born to Richard and Fern Myhre on February 10th, 1954, and raised in Great Falls, MT where she attended Bethel Lutheran Church, West Junior High, and CM Russell High School. It is where she met, fell in love with, then married her soul’s twin flame, Leonard Murphy on August 18th, 1973. They were blessed with the gift of 52 years of marriage.
After they were married, she and Leonard moved to Billings, then to Hayes-Lodgepole where Leonard went to college and became a teacher. They moved back to Great Falls in 1983, and that is where they raised their two children, Scott and Jenifer (Jen).
In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, Shelly loved to make anything and everything she could. Crocheting and sewing were her favorites, closely followed by baking. She was a member of the Close Knit group at church where she and other members would make prayer shawls and donation items. She was also honored to have made countless wedding and event cakes for friends and loved ones throughout the years.
She loved flowers and plants and was known for her “green thumb”. Spending time in her flower beds and doing yard work always brought her happiness. This was in addition her love of God and her church family. Shelly’s faith paved the road map for all the beauty she saw in the world; the beauty she lived to spread and share with her every breath.
Shelly worked various retail jobs over the years, but spent many working for K-Mart, then Poulsen’s before going back to school and graduating college at the age of 50. She was then hired by, and retired from, the Great Falls Clinic where she loved her job as a medical coder.
Tough? Shelly was the strongest woman most of us would ever have the privilege of knowing. She kicked breast cancer in the butt twice, having first found a lump in 1993, then after 17 years of remission, found another mass in 2010. Remission again until 2017 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer again, only this time it was in her bones (metastatic). She fought. Hard. Her numbers continually amazed her doctors, though after eight years of fighting, her body just couldn’t any longer.
Shelly passed peacefully on September 11th, 2025, with her daughter holding one hand and her dedicated husband holding his hand over her heart.
She is preceded in death by her parents Richard (Dick) Myhre and Fern Wicken Myhre, her brother Dik Myhre, and older sister Jude Myhre.
Shelly is survived by her husband Leonard Murphy, son Scott (Carrie) Murphy, daughter Jenifer (Joe) Murphy, bonus daughter Charley (Doug) Myers, sister Laura (Russ) Schade, 24 nieces and nephews, and countless great-nieces and nephews, cousins, and others she had adopted as her own.
Her family asks only that when you think of her please smile at a stranger, tell someone you love them, or pass along an unexpected act of kindness.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Rachelle Murphy Fund at Bethel Lutheran Church which will go toward helping youth programs and members in need of financial assistance.
https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z4JR/campaign/C-162E8
Flame of Life
My mother was the flame of life.
She let you unload your strife,
Unleash your guilt,
While she would quilt.
She would also talk about her day,
In such a certain way.
Usually just to say
She loved you always.
She had this special spark
That left a certain type of mark
On everyone as if they were selected for the ark of life out of the dark.
She bore her pain well;
Fought like hell.
You could always tell
How hard she fell for a man with wedding bells.
Their love was never a hard sell.
She was his mate,
How lucky he did rate.
The dates they had were fate.
Sometimes he liked to make her a little irate,
Igniting the fire of their desire.
That kindle led to two kids,
One boy and one girl,
what a thrill!
I was surprised neither of us was killed.
She was at least that chill.
She had strong will.
My mother accepted all our friends into the family fold,
As if we all were her special type of gold,
All accepted out of the cold.
She was rather bold,
And if you tried to argue, you were told.
– Scott Murphy
Author: Staff
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