Emma "Lou" Louise Murley

Emma Louise Fisher Murley was born on September 21, 1933 in Paris, Texas to Grady and Evelyn Fisher, and died on October 11, 2017 in Winnsboro.
Lou attended Bonham High School, Paris Junior College and East Texas State University, where she met David Murley in a chemistry class. David and Lou wed on June 19, 1954 and were married for 63 years.
After a few years in dental school, the couple moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where David was enrolled in medical school. Lou had earned a degree in zoology and worked as a medical technologist.
After medical school, they returned to Texas and lived in Dallas, where David continued his medical training, and Lou continued to work as a medical technologist.
In 1961, they moved to Winnsboro, where Lou would spend the rest of her life.
She was active at the First United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school, led children’s choir, and served on the administrative board.
In 1976, the couple hosted the first Republican Primary in Wood County since Reconstruction.
Always anxious to work in her community, Lou served on the WISD school board in the 70s. She was a vocal advocate for academics and music education at a time when football was the undisputed king of the hill, so her time on the board was not without conflict.
She served as President of the Chamber of Commerce in 1989 and was selected as Winnsboro’s ‘Woman of the Year’ in 1992.
Lou was always interested in food and the food service industry. She attended La Varenne cooking school in in Paris, France in 1982 and Le Cordon Bleu in London. She worked with her friend, Becky, doing catering jobs around Winnsboro until 1978, when she opened Lou’s Country Inn restaurant.
Lou’s Country Inn was a vibrant meeting place for Winnsboro residents. The food was excellent – the buttermilk pie alone was worth going – and many people looked forward to Sunday lunch at Lou’s every week after church. Though she worked very long hours and dealt with many challenges, Lou would remember her time running “the restaurant” as one of the happiest seasons of her life. A cookbook called A Collection of Recipes from Lou’s Country Inn guides many a kitchen novice to this day.
Winnsboro is a small community, and Lou shone as one of its brightest lights. She treasured her many friendships there, and always modeled that love for community to her children.
In her later years, she began attending the First Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro. She sometimes played the piano for services there until her health began to fail.
She is preceded in death by her parents and by her son, Patrick. She is survived by her husband, David C. Murley; her son, David, Jr. and his wife, Susan, of Boerne, TX; a son Michael and his wife, Kelly, of Austin, TX; a son Stephen and his wife, Jackie, of Boerne, TX; three siblings, John Fisher, Grady Fisher, and Evelyn Fisher; 12 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.
Visitation at the First United Methodist Church of Winnsboro will be held Saturday October 14, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A celebration of Lou's life will follow on Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 2:00 PM at the church with Rev. Evelyn Fisher officiating.
Donations in Lou’s memory can be made to the Gilbreath Memorial Library in Winnsboro.

Arrangements under the directions of Croley Funeral Home in Gilmer.