Pamela Murtha

Dates

Obituary

Pamela Murtha, 65, of Bridgewater, SD, died Saturday, September 12, 2026, at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will be 10:00 AM Tuesday, September 22, at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Alexandria, SD. Burial will be at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Sioux Falls. Visitation will be Monday from 5-7:00 PM at the church. Arrangements by Bittner Funeral Chapel.

An amazing mother, grandmother, and wife, Pamela Jeanne Murtha, left this earth to be with her heavenly Father in the early morning hours on September 12th, 2026. Pam was born in Mitchell, SD, at the Methodist Hospital on May 9th, 1961, to Burdell and Hilda (Wolf) Schroeder. She was the 12th of 13 siblings. She was baptized at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church and was a member there all her life. She would attend Farmer/Fulton schools during her elementary years and then went to Alexandria for junior high and high school. Pam married her husband of 43 years, Lee Murtha, at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Alexandria on May 7th, 1983.  Lee and Pam welcomed their daughter, Tiffany, on March 11th, 1984. They would be expecting their baby boy when she learned she was facing the battle of her life, as she was diagnosed with leukemia in January of 1985. Their baby boy was lost in the battle; they named him Brandon Lee. Pam would go on to fight with all her strength; her husband and family supported her in all the ways they could, including caring for Tiffany, donating blood, platelets, and bone marrow. She would endure chemo and radiation to eventually undergo a bone marrow transplant. It would seem she wasn’t going to pull through. By the grace of God, she was able to survive this diagnosis. She always said she and God were “buddies”. Lee and Pam always wanted a large family; however, they were unable to have any other children after the treatments Pam needed to stay alive. She was able to return to motherhood as Tiffany turned 2 years old and would demonstrate to her daughter unimaginable strength and determination throughout her life battling several forms of cancer. She would gain a son through Tiffany marrying Stephen Stuelpnagel; Pam and Stephen were two peas in a pod with their personalities being so similar, and she would become a Grammy to her grandbabies Tana, Kyra, and Sawyer.

Lee and Pam were married for 43 years, which they spent time traveling when they were young, participating in country dance lessons, as well as planting flowers together. Pam was known for baking the best pies, making delicious goodies, planting and tending to flowers and gardening, as well as canning her garden produce. She was a caregiver by nature, taking care of her brother-in-law, Joel, during her own cancer recovery while he battled brain cancer, becoming a hospice caregiver, her mother living with her for several years, and taking care of her father-in-law in their home as well. After she retired, she became an educational tutor for her grandchildren. They would go to her house after school to do homework and eat all the food they could eat. She was always their biggest cheerleader to work hard in school and get good grades.

Pam was diagnosed with leukemia again this July and was fighting with all she had to continue to be here for her family. She said she had a baby to fight for the first time, and now she has 3 babies to fight for. Pam’s family would all show up once again to help fight this disease, and she was so grateful for all who took time to be with her, drive her, and take care of her pets when she couldn’t be there. Her heart continued to beat for days, trying to fight to come back to Tana, Kyra, and Sawyer. We know it took God some time to convince her that his plan was the best plan.

Family and friends surrounded her bedside in the days leading up to her passing. We all gathered to visit her and sing hymns and tell stories, reliving many memories that Tiffany had never heard. We prayed to her, sang in her ear, gave her kisses and hugs, and held her hand. Her grandchildren gave her weighted stuffed animals to mimic her beloved pets at home, giving her a sense of their presence as she held onto their paws tightly through it all. Even as she passed away at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls, where amazing staff helped us usher her to heaven. She loved us all so much, and that will carry us through until we can be reunited with her in heaven. We love our Pam, Pami, Mom, and Grammy Pammy more than words can say and more than emotions could ever express. She is reunited with her baby boy, Brandon, whom she lost during her first battle with leukemia, her mother and father, her brother Randall, and brothers-in-law Joel and Louis and sisters-in-law Kathy and Marcia, nephew Eric Olson, and friend Barb Culver. We asked her to tell them all hello from us, and we continue to pray for them all as they journey together.

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