Muriel Elene Brem

Heaven is blessed with a new and gifted choir member as Muriel Elene (Winter) Brem went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday morning, March 10, 2022 following a brief illness. Though she had reached the beautiful age of 96, her spirit was young and her humor rich. Glenn, her husband of 76 years, was with her when she passed and she was blessed to have been with all of her surviving children in the days leading to her death.

Muriel Winter was born January 4, 1926 in San Jose, CA, the oldest child of Rowland Winter and Grace French Winter. Muriel and her siblings, Beverly Winter Tobias, Robert Winter and Ruthmary Winter grew up attending local schools. At the age of 12, after skipping two grades, Muriel began her freshman year attending Gilroy High School.

Muriel met Glenn (also 12) as freshmen and she remembered him that first year as "a bit of a pest". By the time they were seniors, however, she noticed how tall and handsome he had become and she was drawn to the shy, outdoorsy local boy. They graduated in 1942 just as America was entering WWII and Glenn joined the Marine Corps as soon as he turned 17. He headed off to fight battles in the South Pacific and Muriel stayed behind in Gilroy, working at a local bank. They wrote letters to each other over the nearly three years he was overseas, and by the time he returned home they were a serious item and married in December 1945.

Five children joined the family in short order ... Christina, Vicki, Richard, Edwin, and Peggy and the family, with many local cousins, spent the years that followed fully immersed in Gilroy. Muriel worked at Wheeler Hospital in those years, but became involved in Gilroy Presbyterian Church (and the church choir), Gilroy's Community Theater, PEO, DAR, Gilroy Historical Society and enjoyed a plethora of friends through the years. Most of those friends were also the parents of the children's friends and life was full and good.

In the decades that followed, there were graduations, marriages, births of grandchildren, graduations, marriages, births of great-grandchildren. At the time of her passing, Muriel and Glenn were blessed with 15 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren. She is survived by her husband Glenn, daughter Vicki (Stan) Ciraulo, Ed (Jane) Brem and Peggy (Jeff) Fischer. She was preceded by daughter Christina (Roger) Haley and son Rich (Trisha) Brem.

Muriel's faith was a central part of her life and she raised their children to know the Lord and read the Bible, attend Sunday School and Christian camps. The legacy of their marriage, their fidelity and integrity, the strong work ethic and patriotism all poured into the lives of the children and grandchildren - a priceless gift. She will be profoundly missed.

Memorial Services will be held on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 11:00am at the Gilroy Presbyterian Church 6000 Miller Avenue, Gilroy, Ca. Reception to follow. Contributions to the Gilroy Historical Society P. 0. Box 1621 Gilroy, Ca. 95021 or to the PEO Foundation C/O Roxie Thomas 1186 Hacienda Drive Gilroy, Ca. 95020 preferred.

Published in Gilroy Dispatch · March 22, 2022