Audrey Ellen McMurry

Audrey McMurry was born to Marie and Dallas Walker on September 10, 1929 in Santa Rosa, California. She joked that her birth caused the 1929 stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. She grew up in Santa Rosa as the middle child with her sisters, Isabel and Lettie during the depression under austere conditions. She was a child at the start of World War II. She went to Catholic schools and graduated from Ursuline High School in Santa Rosa, an all girls Catholic school.

She met the love of her life, Don McMurry, at her sister, Isabel’s, wedding. Audrey and Don were married on May 1, 1949 and lived in Santa Rosa. Audrey took care of the home front while Don served in the Marine Corps. When Don fulfilled his military duty, he went to work for CDF and Audrey was a “stay at home mom”. They moved to Scotts Valley in 1970 as Don promoted in his job. Audrey found her dream home in Scotts Valley.

Audrey was a lifelong devout Catholic. She taught catechism at San Agustin in Scotts Valley and at St. Johns in Felton. She remained active in the Church until she was physically unable.

Family was the highest of priorities for Audrey and she had a strong maternal instinct. She was proud of her three sons, Sam, Mike and Andy. Not long before she passed, she spoke of dreams in which she needed to protect the babies. Audrey’s love for family manifested in an extensive interest in the family’s genealogy long before internet searches made such searches easy. She traveled to find family records to trace the roots of the family tree.

With no formal training, Audrey was creative and artistic as demonstrated by her water color paintings. She loved puns and a witty play on words. She also played the violin in an orchestra.

Audrey worked on a senator’s staff in Santa Rosa, and as a secretary at an insurance office in Ben Lomond after moving to Scotts Valley.

Audrey was preceded in death by her husband, Don who died in 2022. She is survived by her three sons and daughters in-law, Mike and Mary McMurry, Andy and Sue McMurry, and Sam and Cindy McMurry, and grandchildren Jennifer McMurry, Chris and Brooke McMurry, Erin McMurry, Dallas and Alix McMurry, Joey and Lizzy McMurry, and Savina McMurry. Audrey is also survived by three great grandchildren, Gwen, Jordan and Riley.