Obituary of Helen Keen Murray

Helen Marjorie Keen Murray (Mom) July 24, 1923 to March 26, 2019 We are sad to report that our mom, Helen K. Murray, passed away on March 26, 2019, but we are happy that she was able to be live a very active & full life up until just a few years ago. Our mom is survived by her two sons, Richard (Bobbie) & Tim, and her two daughters, Rebecca (Frank) & Cynthia, and a number of grand kids, great grandkids, and one great great granddaughter. She was preceded death by her husband Dick, our sister Martha, and our brothers John & Kevin. Our mom was born in Chipping Camden, England, in 1923, and her mother brought her & her brother, Paul, to United States in the early 1920's shortly after her artist/father, Edgar Keen, came to the United States to work. The Keen family had to move around a lot during mom's early years because of our grandfather's work as a wood & stone carver, but they finally were able to settle in beautiful Warner, New Hampshire where our mom lived until she graduated from high school. After finishing high school, our mom went to nursing school at Mary Hitchcock in Hannover, New Hampshire. While attending nursing school she met our father, Richard (Dick) Y. Murray. Our dad was a student at Dartmouth College in Hannover and he was also our mom's first patient. After getting engaged, our folks move to Tucson and were married at St. Peter & Paul Church, and ended up purchasing a home in the Sam Hughes neighborhood near the U of A where they raised us kids. We felt we were very lucky to have a stay-at-home mom while we were growing up. Once the baby of the family (Kevin) started high school our mom went back into nursing. After going back into nursing she went to work at University Hospital (Now Banner) working in the new born nursery where she had the opportunity to care for three of her grandchildren that were born at the hospital. Mom had many fond memories of the many summers she spent in Estes Park, Colorado, vacationing with our dad, and the family vacations we had touring in Mexico & staying on a farm in Mexico near Saltillo. She also loved to reminisce about the experience of living in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, during the years our dad worked for the US Government. A number of us had the good fortune to travel with our mom on trips to Europe & New Zealand, and to go with her to her home town of Chipping Camden while visiting England. Quite a few of us also had the chance to accompany her to New Hampshire for her get togethers & visits with her high school class mates. While on these trips to New Hampshire we always included side trips with our mom to the surrounding States in New England. We're sure most folks who knew her would agree that our mom was a real character, and that she was a person that always spoke her mind. Our mom was a strong woman in many ways and always seemed to know how to face adversity. We will always be grateful for the care that our mom gave our father who was seriously affected by polio for most of his life. We're going to miss you mom, but we will always be thankful that you had many years of good health & happiness and for being our mom. Arrangements by Adair Funeral Home, Dodge Chapel.