Muriel Helen (MacArthur) Guyer, age 94, of Newtown, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 30, in Mesa, Ariz., with her daughter by her side. Muriel had a zest for life and lived each day full of joy and happiness. She brought a smile to all who knew her and will be missed dearly by her family and friends.

Muriel was born in Newark, N.J., on April 13, 1926, the firstborn daughter of the late Russell and Helen Reitzer MacArthur. Growing up in Kearny, N.J., she lived in New Jersey until 1965 when she, her husband, and three girls moved to Connecticut, first living in Monroe and then settling in Newtown, where she lived until July of 2020.

Though she graduated from Douglass College – Rutgers University in 1948 with a degree in botany and bacteriology, she found her true calling as school librarian in the Monroe School System, first at Chalk Hill Middle School and then Stepney Elementary before retiring after almost 20 years.

One of her favorite sayings was “Bloom where you are planted” and Muriel surely embodied that every day of her life. She would wake up each day with the mindset of gratitude and would take what that day offered with a smile. When she moved to Nunnawauk Meadows in Newtown, she created the library for the residents there and was active in the Garden Committee and helped with the annual tag sale.

Left to honor her memory are her two daughters, Laurie Oliff and her husband, Phil, in Mesa, Ariz., and Leslie House and her husband, David, in Middlebury; and her granddaughter, Rebecca Elizabeth House and her fiancé, Brennen Walters, in New Orleans, La. She leaves her sister, Mildred Hackett, of Portage, Mich.; her brothers, Russell MacArthur of Brick, N.J., and Norman MacArthur of Doylestown, Penn.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her husband of over 50 years, Stuart C. Guyer; her eldest daughter, Linda Guyer Stonehart; and her precious grandson, Patrick Miles House.

Due to COVID, there will be a remembrance service in the spring at the family’s convenience. However, the family asks that friends remember Muriel by raising a glass of your favorite beverage and toasting a life well lived and loved.

A lifelong animal lover (especially her many cats over the years) memorial contributions can be made to Brass City Rescue Alliance, 2 Service Road, Middlebury CT 06762.