Anna Murdock was called to her eternal home Monday, September 20, 2022. She loved life, her family, her garden, her students, and touched everyone she met with her magic, service, and generosity.

Born in Anna Paulowana, Netherlands, to Pieter and Jantje Prins, she, her older brother, Jon and younger sister, Winnie experienced the unique childhood of surviving Nazi occupied Europe, where she and her parents worshipped as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in secret. At age 8, she immigrated to the United States and settled in southern California. Soon, another brother, Peter was born.

Anna’s teen years were spent embracing the American lifestyle, studying English, and visiting the beach. Upon graduating, she attended Brigham Young University. While home for a visit, she was introduced to a pair of missionaries. One was Larry Murdock, who knew the moment they shook hands that they would meet again soon. And they did.  After Larry finished his mission, they reconnected at BYU, started dating and married June 1, 1962. They were inseparable and never stopped loving each other.

Anna and Larry started out their lives together in Idaho but moved to Spanish Fork where Larry taught for the Church as a seminary teacher for 35 years. Anna slowly worked on her degree, and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

Larry and Anna had seven sons, and one daughter. They passed to their children a firm belief in education, hard work, creativity, service and their savior Jesus Christ.

A prolific contributor to her community, Anna helped establish the Spanish Fork Community Theater. But her most influential contribution was the Spanish Fork Youth Theatre. She started lessons in her basement. It quickly expanded, and over the 40 years of its existence, she has taught hundreds of youth to love the performing arts. Beyond that, she taught youth to be kind, to let their talents shine, and above all, that they are loved. Because of her years of hard work, she was a recipient of the Arts in the Community Lifetime Achievement Award.

A firm believer in do-it-yourself, Anna helped her husband restore and rebuild two homes. She sewed costumes, built sets, wrote scripts, decorated, and gardened. Everything she did, she did exquisitely, with a minimum of resources.

She loved her Savior and His church. She actively served the people of her ward in a multitude of callings. No matter the calling, she served with all her heart, mind, and strength. Together with Larry, she went on a proselyting couple’s mission in Mississippi.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Larry, her son, Kevin, and her sister, Winnie. She is survived by her two brothers, Jon and Peter, seven children, their spouses, twenty-four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

She made life bright and fun. She could whip together a party in moments. A brilliant conversationalist, she could talk about anything. A creative master, she could make anything out of nothing. She saw value in everything and everyone.

She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will live on in the lives of those she touched.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, September 30, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. located at the Spanish Fork 12 ^th Ward Building, 310 East Center Street, Spanish Fork, Utah. Family and friends may attend a visitation from 11:30-12:45 p.m.  prior to services at the church. Interment will be at the Spanish Fork Cemetery.

TO VIEW THE SERVICES VIA LIVESTREAM, PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVICES BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M. ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

TO VIEW THE SERVICES VIA LIVESTREAM, PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVICES BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M. ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

LIVESTREAM LINK Anna Murdock