Gravestone of Josie Bell Killian Murphy, mother to Audie Murphy. Photo provided by Mike West.

Aleo cemetery, officially known as Prairie Grove cemetery, is the final resting place of Audie Murphy's beloved mother Josie Bell Killian Murphy and her parents Jefferson and Sarah Killian. The cemetery is located just south of Farmersville, Texas.

Josie Murphy passed away on May 23, 1941 after a lingering illness when Audie was 16 years old (read obituary). Audie's father Emmett Murphy abandoned the family about four years earlier. Upon the death of Josie Murphy, Audie's youngest sisters, Nadene and Billie, and brother, Joe, went to live at the Boles Home Orphanage outside of Greenville, Texas. Audie vowed to have the family reunited ... a promise he made good when he returned home from the war. With money he'd saved as well as with the help of war bonds given to him by citizens of the local communities, Audie was able to purchase a home in Farmersville, Texas for his oldest sister Corrine and her husband Poland so that they could care for Nadene, Billie, and Joe as well as their three children.

To find the cemetery, take US380 to Farmersville, Texas. About 1 mile past the Dairy Queen, turn south onto FM547. About 4 miles, turn west onto County Road 643. The cemetery is about 1-½ miles further on the north side of the country road. A one-lane dirt road leads into and divides the cemetery into two sections – East and West. The graves of Josie Murphy and Sarah and Jefferson Killian are in the east section. The second photo, taken in June 1967, shows the two graves side by side.

A historical marker (last photo) identifies the cemetery which is often overgrown with weeds and neglected. The marker describes the history of the cemetery and the surrounding communities and mentions Audie Murphy and his family.

Gravestone of grandfather Jefferson D. Killian (died 1943) and grandmother Elizabeth Gill Killian (died 1946). The red flowering bush marks the grave of Audie's Mother, Josie Bell Killian Murphy.

Prairie Grove (Aleo Cemetery) Historical Marker located in Collin County, Texas