Obituary: Claire A. (Vincent) Murray
January 15, 1932 - July 3, 2023
Claire A. (Vincent) Murray, courtesy photo
Claire A. (Vincent) Murray, 91, passed away on Monday, July 3, 2023, peacefully with her loving family at her side. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 58 years, Russell J. Murray Sr., in 2011.
She is survived by two children, Vincent M. Murray and his wife Rebecca of Hope, Maine, and Mary Ellen Gordon and her husband Andrew of Waterbury Center, Vermont; four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. She was also preceded in death by her son Russell J. Murray Jr. in 2021, and her sister Louise (Vincent) Martin.
Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on January 15, 1932, Claire was the daughter of William and Dorina (Gagnon) Vincent. She grew up in Woonsocket and was a graduate of Woonsocket High School’s class of 1949.
Claire and Russell met in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, at a town hall dance hall. They married in Biloxi, Mississippi, on March 14, 1953, as Russell was leaving to serve in the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War.
Claire worked for several years as a telephone operator for the Bell Telephone Company until deciding to stay home to raise her children. She was an amazing homemaker, and she and Russell raised their family in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, and later moved to Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Claire was a former den mother for the Whitinsville Cub Scouts Troop #150. She also dedicated many hours to attending and supporting her children during their athletic events.
Voted “Neatest” in her high school class, Claire never lost her attentiveness to the latest fashions and was admired for her “Cherries in the Snow” lipstick bringing smiles and comments from hospital and home health staff.
She enjoyed a good game of rummy with her grandchildren and bingo was a favorite while a resident at The Gardens in Williamstown, Vermont, where she resided from 2014 until early 2023, when she moved to her daughter’s home in Waterbury Center. She was known and loved for her contagious laugh and cheerful disposition by the other residents at The Gardens.
Jackman Funeral Home, 12 Spring St., Whitinsville, Massachusetts, is assisting the family with funeral arrangements. A service will be held privately at the convenience of the family.
Donations in Claire’s memory may be made to Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641, or Williamstown Ambulance Service, 249 Meadow St., Williamstown, VT 05679. To leave online messages of condolence or to send flowers or plant a tree in Claire’s honor, visit the website JackmanFuneralHomes.com.