Kent Deloy Murri Sr., 78, passed away on Oct. 12, 2023 in the presence of his wife and son. His family remembers him as a man who could fix anything, who never turned down a challenge, and who filled gatherings with laughter.
Kent was born in St. Anthony, Idaho, on Sept. 6, 1945. In 1966, he enlisted in the military with his brothers. He joined the Navy and after months on an aircraft carrier, was stationed in Norfolk, Va. through 1970. He left with a National Service Medal and a wife named Virginia “Ginni” Melton.
Kent and Ginni moved to Nampa, where they raised six children: Kent Jr., Steven, Aaron, Juliette, Ryan and Kendra.
“I always felt safe with him around,” his daughter, Kendra, said. Whether the family was camping, baling hay or boating on Lake Lowell, Kent made the days fun.
Kent was a fixer. He instilled in his children the importance of self-reliance and ingenuity.
“The man could fix anything,” his son, Aaron, said. “Spending time with him while he fixed things taught me how to repair things. Now, when I’m in the middle of fixing something, people ask me where I learned how. My response is always, ‘My dad taught me.’”
Kent started an electronic repair business — Murri’s Electronics — with two brothers in 1970. For 39 years, he ran the storefront in Meridian. In his spare time, he worked on cars and motorcycles, and built his family two houses.
“The saying, ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ — he was every bit of that,” his son, Kent Jr., said. “Although he would probably tell you he was master of it all.”
He was a master of the Free Throw, known for shooting 100 in a row. “He would wake up so early to play church basketball,” his daughter, Juliette, remembered.
“I won district and went to state because he taught me how to shoot a free throw,” Kendra added.
He had a passion for flying. He and his son, Steve, both earned their pilot’s certificates for Steve’s 17 th birthday. “That created a special, lifelong bond that I will always cherish,” Steve said.
After 44 years of marriage, Ginni passed away in 2014. Kent married Patt Neslen in 2019 and moved to Saratoga Springs, Utah, spending time with his grandchildren — playing cards, telling stories and always getting a laugh.
Kent’s funeral will be on Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Bowman Funeral Home in Boise, with a viewing at 10 a.m. His body will rest beside his late wife at the Veterans Memorial at Dry Creek Cemetery. He is survived by his brother, Larry, his wife, six children, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
When a pilot passes away, we wish him blue skies and tailwinds. When a sailor passes away, we wish him fair winds and following seas. Kent was a pilot, a sailor, and so much more.