Mrs. Linda Murray

March 10, 1948 - April 26, 2020

Linda Murray nee Paglini; Dearly Beloved Wife of the late John Sr "Jack"; Loving Mother of Jacalyn (Gregory) McElmeel, Rebecca Murray, and John Jr. (Lana) Murray; Fond Nana of Maegan and Joseph McElmeel; Loving Aunt, Cousin, Godmother, and Friend of many. Entombment Queen of Heaven Mausoleum. Please omit flowers. Due to the Covid 19, visitation and funeral will be private. A celebration of life will be at a later date. Linda was a special person that touched many lives. She was taken from us too soon. Her family is thankful that she did not suffer long from this horrible virus and that she peacefully left us in her sleep. Linda cherished family and friends throughout her life. She was an only child growing up and, as such, always referred to two of her first cousins as her “sisters”. It meant the world to her to have a large close extended family growing up. Countless favorite foods, traditions and memories are the result. While Linda’s children were school-aged she watched and loved dozens of kids in her home. She also referred to these kids as her “borrowed babies”. Although they were young when she watched them, she continued to watch them grow up on Facebook with pride of being a small part of their young lives. After her own children got older, she began working for many years in various nursing homes as either an Admissions Director or an Activity Director. Her passion of the two was always Activities. She loved putting a smile on the resident’s faces and created activities to help bring memories back to those with dementia and build bulletin boards to provide cognitive stimulation. She coordinated many summer family picnics for the residents and their loved ones. When Linda stopped working, she enjoyed being a Nana and considered that her most precious title of all. Her grandkids were the apples of her eye and she could not have been more proud of each of them. She loved teaching them devious things as they grew to play/say jokes, sharing stories from the past, and playing games with them during visits. When Linda was no longer able to live on her own she found a new “home” at Bria of Geneva. Linda was not in great mental or physical condition when she became a resident there, but then truly thrived as a result of living there. She was able to feel valued because she was able to bring her ideas for activities to life once again. Shortly after moving there she made many friends and began to quickly spread her wings. The facility helped her get a custom motorized wheelchair which truly changed her life and gave her freedom that she hadn’t had for a while. She started a group called the “Golden Crochet Girls” and taught any resident that wanted to learn how to crochet. They started slow with single crochets and in no time she had everyone making shalls and lap blankets for a nearby church. She also got residents hooked on playing games with her like Boggle, Rummikub, Uno, or an Italian card game. Recently, Linda also began to help lead Bible Study. Linda would joke around with the staff at Bria and loved the relationships she had formed as a result. Linda will truly be missed by many.