Cynthia Murray

Cynthia A. Murray, 63, died at her home in Lawrence on August 3, 2012.  She was born on July 2, 1949 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Hal A. Burnett, M.D. and Elizabeth Klinglesmith Burnett.  Her father was a decorated U.S. Army veteran who served in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded two purple hearts and a Bronze Star with Oak leaf Cluster.  He practiced medicine in Parsons, Kansas until his death from cancer in 1966.  Her mother, Elizabeth Burnett Whitt, is a resident of Brandon Woods in Lawrence.

Cindy was graduated from Parsons High School in 1967.  She was thereafter graduated from the University of Kansas in 1971, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  During her senior year at KU, she studied at the University of Exeter, England, on a Rotary Scholarship.  She was thereafter graduated from the University of Kansas School of Nursing in 1975, among the top three students in her class.

She married Thomas V. Murray on June 2, 1971.  He survives of the home.

She is also survived by her children, Anne C. Emert and son-in-law Mark T. Emert, both of Lawrence, and Thomas V. Murray, Jr. and daughter-in-law Lisa R. Murray of Santa Monica, California, and her grandchild, Samuel Thomas Emert of Lawrence.

She is also survived by her mother and her two sisters, Barbara Allen Kurzinski and spouse Cass Kurzinski, of Choctaw, Arkansas, and Mallory Burnett of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She was predeceased by her youngest sister, Haydn Burnett McCulley Smith.

She served as a Deacon in the First Presbyterian Church of Lawrence.  She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, the Twentieth Century Club, the Lawrence Country Club, the River Club and multiple book clubs, and served on the Kappa Kappa Gamma House Board and was active the Lawrence chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae.   She was a member of the American Nursing Association and the Kansas State Nursing Association.  She served on the Lawrence Dental Board, and also served as a member of the Board of Directors of DCCCA, of which she served as President from 2009 until the time of her death.

Cindy was one of the first teachers of Prepared Childbirth in Lawrence.  She served as an obstetrical nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital from 1976 until 1986, and served as school nurse at Lawrence High School from 1989 until her retirement in 2009.  She volunteered for many organizations, including Just Food, Health Care Access, and the LINK Kitchen.  She also continued to substitute as a school nurse with the Lawrence School District until the time of her death.

Cindy was known for her sincere willingness to help others, her generosity of spirit, and her loving personality.

Memorial Services will be held on August 9, 2012, at 2 o’clock p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church.  There will be no visitation.

The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association, the Lawrence Schools Foundation, and the Family Conservancy of Kansas City, Missouri, which may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.