Elaine Murray
Stamford, CT—Elaine Murray (nee Jones), a former elementary school educator in the Stamford Public Schools and Professional Development and Recreational Leader at the Greenwich YWCA, died on December 28, 2021, at her home in Stamford. The wife of local entrepreneur, civic, and community leader, J. Ralph Murray, was 86 years old. Mrs. Murray was a Stamford resident for nearly 60 years.
Mrs. Murray was born in New York City on January 21, 1935, the second of four children born to Esther Harris and Ferdinand T. Jones Sr. She was reared in the Bronx and educated in the New York Public City Schools. She graduated from Taft High School in 1952, where the theater became one of her passions. After high school, she worked at the New York Telephone Company in its accounting department. But in her free time, Mrs. Murray was a member of The Rennies, a theater troupe named for Harlem’s Renaissance Casino and Ballroom, for which she adopted the stage name, Lorette Fontaine.
She met James Ralph Murray in June, 1956, and after a whirlwind courtship, the two married on February 3, 1957. They moved to the first home in Stamford in October 1963, when their eldest child, James Ralph Murray, Jr., was a toddler. Mrs. Murray held part-time weekend jobs at the C. O. Smith Department Store and Seal Test Dairies when her son was young but became a full-time stay-at-home mother upon the birth of her two daughters, Jan Marie and Jodi Elizabeth.
When all her children enrolled in school, Mrs. Murray decided to further her education. She graduated Magna cum laude from Norwalk Community College and received the same distinction upon graduating with a Bachelor’s degree from The College of New
Rochelle. Mrs. Murray worked at a private nursery school in Noroton and the First Presbyterian Nursery School in Stamford before accepting a position with the Stamford Public Schools. She taught kindergarten at Franklin Elementary School and Westover Elementary School.
After leaving her teaching role, Mrs. Murray landed a job at the Greenwich YWCA in Professional Development. She impacted the lives of many through her work running the Displaced Homemaker Program, which prepared divorced women and those experiencing other hardships for the workforce. In subsequent years, her role expanded first to lead local cultural enrichments outings and later domestic and international trips. The trips were not only for women in the program but for the YWCA community-at-large. She organized 16 group trips for the YWCA from as far north as Arctic Circle and as far south as Sicily, Italy.
In 1996, she decided to take on a new role, stayat-home grandmother, to support the care of her first grandchild. And with that came a new title, Grandma
Laine. Seven more grandchildren followed. Mrs. Murray enjoyed this role immensely until memory issues precluded her active participation in their care.
Mr. and Mrs. Murray became members of the First Congregational Church in Stamford, under the leadership of the Reverend Raymond Shoup shortly after they moved to Stamford. She
volunteered with the Senior Teen Program, accompanying young congregants on trips to Nantucket and New York City, and was active with the church’s women’s fellowship.
An avid fitness buff before it was fashionable, Mrs. Murray was a member of the Elaine Powers Clubs, The Greenwich YWCA, and The Tully Health Center, where she took spin class five days a week before her illness.
Mrs. Murray is survived by her husband, James Ralph Murray, Sr.; Her three children, James (Bridget) Murray Jr., Jan (Peter) Keravich, and Jodi Murray Gregg, great-niece/ daughter, Nicole Saunders; eight grandchildren, and two brothers, Dr. Ferdinand T. Jones and Dr. Arthur C. Jones.