Murray, Sister Dorothy
ALBANY — Religious of the Sacred Heart, Dorothy Murray died on May 25, 2022, in Albany.
Dorothy Murray was born on July 11, 1923, in Brooklyn, to Dr. Foster Murray and Ella Maud (Beth) Lee Murray. After high school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Maplehurst, Dorothy attended Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, earning a B.A. in history in 1945. Later, in 1956, she earned an M.A. in history as well. In September of 1945, after many years of thought and reflection, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood in Albany and pronounced her first vows there in 1948.
Sister Murray taught at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Eden Hall, in Torresdale, Pa., and at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md., and in 1953, went to Rome to prepare to make her final vows. On July 31, 1953, she became a professed religious of the Sacred Heart. Following her profession, Sister ing her profession, Sister Murray taught at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Overbrook, Pa., at Newton Country Day School in Newton, Mass., where she was also charged with the studies for the whole school, then returned to Overbrook to become headmistress there. In 1966, she moved to the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Elmhurst, in Portsmouth, R.I. to be superior. She returned to Stone Ridge in 1969, and served as superior until 1971, when she went back to Elmhurst to become headmistress for one year. During the summers between 1969 and 1971, Sister Murray organized and directed summer renewal programs at the house in Portsmouth, attended by RSCJ, lay people, and religious from other congregations. Sister Murray participated in the Apostolic Religious Community (ARC) program in Rome from 1972 to 1973, and then went on to studies at the Weston School of Theology earning an M.A. in theology with a focus on spiritual direction. In 1974, she went to Catholic University in Washington, D.C., to serve as a member of the Priestly Formation Team in the Theological College until 1980, after which she returned to Rome and served for seven years on the team preparing young religious for their final vows in the Society. Sister Murray also served as mistress of novices for the Canadian Province (1987-1988). Beginning in 1988, she was part of the U.S. Province staff working in ongoing formation. In 1994, Sister Murray began working in parish ministry as a spiritual director at Saint Stephen of Hungary Parish in New York City where she remained for the next 15 years. She also served as a spiritual director at the Kenwood Infirmary where she ministered to her religious sisters.
Throughout her long years in ministry, as a teacher, administrator, superior, and spiritual director, Sr. Murray was a beloved and faithful mentor and friend. Nicknamed "Worry Murray" for her propensity to be forever anxious it was, perhaps, her vulnerability that made her so beloved and approachable. Although she held important positions all her life, she never had about her an air of "importance." The correspondence she maintained for years with people all over the world attested to the heart connections she established everywhere she went. In 2009, after many years of dedicated ministry, Sister Murray retired to the Abba House Community in Albany, and then to the Avila Community in 2011. When her health began to deteriorate and she needed more care, she moved to the Teresian House Community in 2018. In recent weeks Sister Murray’s health declined significantly and on May 25, the Feast of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, she slipped away peacefully.
Sister Murray is survived by a devoted family of nieces and nephews, sons and daughters of her beloved sister, Ruth (Charles) Place, and by her religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
Her funeral will be held in St. Francis of Assisi Parish (4th Avenue site) at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15. She will be buried in the Kenwood Cemetery.