Obituary of Barbara Murray

Barbara was born in Jersey Shore, PA and lived there with her parents until they relocated to Rochester at the age of two. Barbara's home was at 100 Burrows St. in Rochester, where she remained until the age of 18. Barbara's mom, Lucy was an administrative assistant to Haloid which developed into Xerox, and from there Lucy eventually retired.(Charlie always kicked himself for not buying that first round of stock Xerox sold.) Charles worked for the New York Central Railroad until his retirement. Barb was an only child. Barb attended Holy Apostles Grammar school and graduated from Nazareth Academy in 1950. Barb's greatest interest was music … singing, singing, singing! She loved being in the choir and sang in one all of her life. Whether it was at Holy Apostles, Nazareth Academy, St' John's Church, community events or later in life in Florida at the Villages Choir. When she sang, she was definitely heard! Barb and Bob met at a Friday church dance at Immaculate Conception church when Barb was 17 years old. They were married at Holy Apostles Church in Rochester on February 28, 1951. Barb and Bob were married 62 plus years. Barbara first worked for a local dentist. After she married, Barb became a mother, and raised 6 children. When the children were older, Barb earned a license as a Practical Nurse. She worked with various nursing homes, hospitals and private physician practices. Barbara was a dedicated nurse and really loved that profession. When growing up, the family always took vacations. It seemed like every chance we got, we were loading up, cars, trailers, trailer campers, grabbing the ole "triptik" and away we'd go. Mostly campgrounds, sometimes, motel accommodations weren't available. We traveled all over the place. Wolf Lake in Canada was one of our favorites, at an uncle's camp where we stayed in a cabin for a weekend or week or two. Great fishing, great food, great memories there! We also took many trips to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine. The list goes on. We all have memories of a lot of good days at that time in out lives. Aside from Barbara's 6 children: Sharon, Bob, Tim, Kevin, James & Dan she was a loving grandmother to 8 grandchildren: Erin, Elizabeth, Kerry, Kate, Meaghan, Kiera, Robert & Danielle and great-grandmother to : Lucy, Charley, Zoe, Madeline & Delia. Barb loved movies, not on the big screen kind at the theatre but on TV, Oldies, any of them and all of them. She was a movie buff and she knew them all by heart. She really enjoyed getting wrapped up in their story lines. Some of Barb's activities included the choir, shopping, lots of shopping. Sharon: Mom loved babies. When her first grandchild, Erin, was born she was a bit jaundiced and there was some question about whether she would be able to leave the hospital as planned. They wanted to keep her a couple of days, just to make sure everything was okay. Needless to say, the new mom and dad were not happy about this turn of events. We later learned that mom came to the hospital dressed in her nurse's uniform the day Erin was to go home. She said she had a "chat" with the nursery staff to let them know that Erin was going straight to her house where she was to be checked by the family doctor who lived down the street. Who knows if the uniform made a difference but Erin came home that day, just as her grandmother intended. Bob: I remember my mother singing in various church and community choirs. No matter how large the choir, I could always pick out her high, clear sweet voice." Kevin: No one can say that my mother did not have a rapier wit that wrapped very neatly around an unforgettable and I dare say "perverse" sense of humor…It was her gift!! A gift she clearly handed down to not only her children, but is unmistakable in her grandchildren & soon to be seen in her great grandchildren…It's a wonderful curse!! When I talk to my family and we're laughing, joking or mocking about, (as we will today) that special gift from Mom will be quite evident!!!! Dan Being the youngest out of 6 kids, I was always reminded by Mom that there was NO trick in the book that she has not seen, which made trying to get away with anything virtually impossible! Yes, Mom's voice could NOT be mistaken! It did not matter where or what she was singing. Whether it was a verse of Silent Night at midnight mass from high atop the church choir loft or simply singing soft and calming notes to put me to sleep as a child, her voice will never leave me.