Mary passed away peacefully at home age 95 years. She will be sadly missed by her family and friends and you can read an obituary written by Ken below.

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Obituary

MARY LOUISE MURRAY
(nee Webster)
1929 – 2024

Mary was born in Cheshire but soon became a Londoner and enjoyed a happy life in Putney until the outbreak of the Second World War when, because of the blitz, her parents decided she should become a Boarder at Queen Anne’s School in Caversham.  There she joined a large group of girls who all became lifelong friends.

Mary was a very conscientious student and in due course graduated from Leeds University with a good degree in History but she soon found that working in the environs of academia didn’t suit and surprisingly found employment as a Fingerprint Officer at New Scotland Yard.  This was in the days when the only tool at their disposal was a magnifying glass but nevertheless she used to speculate about how many felons she had helped to convict.  The number was impressive.

We met in 1956 when, as in an Agatha Christie novel, we had lunch together on the “Torbay Express” train travelling to Kingswear for the very first Tall Ships Race: the voyage was to Lisbon and back.  We didn’t realise until we met again on board “PROVIDENT” that we were both crewing on the same vessel!

It seems no time since we were married at St Gabriel’s Church in Pimlico each of us depositing with the Vicar a small suitcase containing a few toiletries in order to claim residency in the Parish.  A son David and a daughter Sarah soon followed and before long she had six Grandchildren – Isabel, Naomi, Esme, twins Samuel and Charlotte, and Reuben all of whom she cherished and were her delight.  

As a family we enjoyed many foreign holidays together.  Mary also visited Sarah when she was working in Nepal and David in Hong Kong.  Later, when she had more time on her hands, she became interested in Fine Art and scoured European Churches and Art Galleries seemingly more interested in the artists’ technique than in their pictures. Perhaps this was a legacy of her fingerprint days?

Mary was very close to her widowed mother, who died in 1973, and to her older brother who  passed away earlier this year. In her younger days she helped out in charity shops and also regularly visited and comforted the elderly in our local Abbeyfield home.

Sadly she was diagnosed with Dementia in 2019 and subsequently became reliant on a wheelchair and in need of full time personal support. But she was indomitable and remained the kind and caring person she had always been.

From somewhere she acquired a devastating sense of humour and also enjoyed being indulged by her lovely Carers. She liked reading the newspapers every day (indignantly tearing out anything she disagreed with), shopping, outings to fondly remembered places and meals in favourite eateries.  While in town complete strangers would often stop to chat with her and on one occasion a lady even gave her a rose from her bouquet.  

She remained resilient right up to her 95th birthday after which she became frail and very tired and eventually died in her sleep slipping away peacefully early in the morning just as it was getting light.

A new day and a new beginning for a gentle lady after a long life well lived.  Everyone loved her.
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