S Muriel 'Murry' (Melnikoff) Contonio H

HOLDEN – Muriel (Melnikoff) Contonio Hall, 80, of Oak Circle, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on Thursday, June 9, 2011 after a long courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Her husband of 30 years, Walter J. Hall, Jr. died last year.

Everyone called her Murry, she was born and raised in Worcester, daughter of the late Nathan and Minnie (Jenkins) Melnikoff, and lived over 20 years in Holden. She was a graduate of Commerce High School and the Worcester Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing. Her career as a registered nurse began at Hahnemann Hospital and then at Worcester County Hospital in Boylston where she retired as a nursing supervisor.

She leaves her children, Debbie Guiney and her husband John of Worcester, John Contonio and his wife Linda of Yarmouthport, Paula Wilson and her husband Doug of Paxton and Richard Contonio and his wife Susan of Holden; a step-son, Michael Hall and his wife Christine of Boylston; three brothers, Kenneth Melnikoff of Worcester, Noah Melnikoff of West Boylston and Harold Melnikoff of Virginia Beach, VA; a sister, Bette Massad of Westborough; 8 grandchildren, Jamie, Ashley, Abigail, Christopher, Stephen, Dan, Joshua and Jessica; 4 great-grandchildren; nephews and nieces; her step-daughter in law, Mindy Hall of Shrewsbury; and her former husband, James Contonio of South Dennis. A step-son, Stephen Hall of Shrewsbury, two brothers and four sisters predeceased her.

Murry had a passion for life. She embodied the very best in being a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She enjoyed the ocean, reading a good book and an occasional trip to Foxwoods but most of all spending time with her children grandchildren and great grandchildren. She never bemoaned her fate, fought a valiant battle with this insidious disease and left this world a far better place for having been in it.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 12th, in the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street (Rte. 122A), Holden. A Celebration of Her Life will be held at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 13th, in the First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Worcester. Burial will follow in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Ovations For The Cure of Ovarian Cancer, 251 West Central Street, Suite 32, Natick, MA 01760 (or on-line www.ovationsforthecure.org ); or UMass Memorial Home Health & Hospice, 650 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA 01605.

To share a memory or leave an on-line condolence visit: www.milesfuneralhome.com