Funeral service will be 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, January 4, 2025, at Mt. Hermon Baptist Church; 504 Evans Street.  Burial will follow in Calvary Memorial Cemetery.  Visitation is from 6-8:00 P.M. on Friday at the funeral home.

Ms. Claretta "Juanita" Murray peacefully passed away on Thursday, December 26, 2024, at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC.  She was born on February 1, 1942, in New Hanover County to the late Mollie Elizabeth Purvis Murray. Juanita attended Williston High School in Wilmington, NC. Afterward, she moved to New York, where she lived in Brooklyn and Queens. It was there that she began her career as a Certified Nursing Assistant, dedicating herself to the care of others at Florence Nightingale and Bellevue Health Care Centers.  In 1 979, Juanita returned to Wilmington, where she continued to embrace her roles as a devoted mother and grandmother. Her faith and love for the Lord were at the heart of her life. She served as the superintendent of Sunday School and joyfully sang giving glory to God on the Senior Choir at Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church. Juanita continued her compassionate work as a CNA at Hillhaven Convalescent Center (now known as Cypress Pointe Rehabilitation Center) in Wilmington, where she touched many lives with her kindness and dedication. She retired after years of service due to health challenges.  Juanita was preceded in death by her beloved mother, Mollie Elizabeth Purvis Murray, three brothers; Eddie, Daniel, and Sylvester "Uncle Junior", four sisters; Dorothea Armstrong, Martha Simpson, Clara Washington, and Josephine White, and her cherished grandson, Spc. Ronald Leon Murray, Jr.  She leaves to cherish her memory: one son, Ronald Leon Murray Sr.; four daughters, Cheryl Murray Whitaker, Regina Murray Hooper (Andrew), LaTonya Murray Griffin, and Theresa Murray; thirteen grandchildren; a host of great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter (born November 2024).  She also leaves a host of nieces, nephews, and friends, her devoted church family; and two very special friends and neighbors, Lela Flood and Edna Mae Miller.