Sandra Merritt Murray

Sandra Merritt Murray of Americus, passed away on Saturday, January 18 at 7:23 in the morning in Atlanta at Emory University Hospital. She had been stricken suddenly with an illness which lingered for more than three months until the time of her death. Her husband of almost 34 years and their daughter, Summer, were with her. Services are planned for 2:00 pm Thursday afternoon, January 23 at Calvary Episcopal Church in Americus with interment to follow in Oak Grove Cemetery. Her family remembers that it is her wish that as in her life, in her home and in her faith, all people in the family of her beloved community no matter how humble are embraced and your loving presence is welcomed to her side now. Mrs. Murray was well known for her strong family devotion, as wife, mother, daughter and sister. She was respected as a leader in her community and for her dedication to maintaining and saving its beauty in the lives of our people. For 34 years, alongside her attorney husband, she was time and again a determined fighter for fairness, justice and love among all of the people of her community. She was always especially solicitous of the welfare of all of our young people and of the protection of their future. Mrs. Murray was born in Cuthbert, Randolph County, Georgia on April 6, 1952 of the parentage of the late George Payton Merritt and Sara Joiner Merritt, who survives her. Her parents and their forebears were successful farmers in the Trinity Community of Randolph County. They raised her in an agricultural environment. Her father and mother, who farmed from their earliest years, have been well known for their good stewardship of the land. Sandra attended the public schools of Randolph County, first in Shellman and later graduating from Cuthbert High School in 1970. She participated in varsity basketball and softball. She was a runner-up as Miss Randolph County in high school. She was an active member of the Randolph County 4-H Club, achieving awards in cooking, canning and freezing, and flower arrangement. She presented a talk on speech-making in regional 4-H competition at Ga. Southwestern College in Americus while in high school. She worked in the Georgia Power office in Cuthbert. She was later transferred to the office of Georgia Power in Columbus. While there she met and married, Americus attorney William J. Murray on June 28, 1980 in the Trinity United Methodist Church of her youth. On their wedding anniversary date they often revisited the little church in the Trinity Community of Randolph County to privately remember and reflect on their marriage. Her survivors include her husband, Mr. Murray, their daughter Summer Murray, of Atlanta, and two grandsons, Noah Jonathan Deal, age six, of Americus, and Will Brian (Deal), now named Johnson, age three, of Perry. Her two grandsons are of the parentage of her late son Brian Ray Deal. (Brian was born December 22, 1977. He predeceased her on May 11, 2011. Brian was the child of her marriage to her high school sweetheart Billy R. Deal of Dawson in 1970, about one month after her graduation from high school. Brian was 30 months old when Sandra married Mr. Murray.) Sandra is also survived by an older brother, Russell Merritt of Randolph County and a younger sister, Janice Merritt Giles of Ft. Gaines, Georgia. She is survived by a niece and nephew Lisa Merritt and Rusty Merritt, both of Cuthbert, and a niece Eve Giles Hughes, the wife of Houston County Sheriff Andrew Hughes of Dothan, Ala., and aunts Thelma Merritt Cannington of Lumpkin, Betty Joiner Jones of Cuthbert, and Birdie Joiner Harvey of Homestead, Fla. She is survived by several cousins both by blood and by marriage. Sandra was baptized and raised in the Trinity United Methodist Church of Randolph County which was built by her great grandfather. Later upon her marriage in 1980, she became a member of First Baptist Church of Americus where her husband had been a member since birth. She was a worker in the church. Most recently, in 2010 Sandra was confirmed into Calvary Episcopal Church of Americus with her husband whose family had been longtime members of Calvary. Her son, Brian, and daughter Summer, along with her grandson, Noah, were baptized in Calvary Episcopal in 2010. Sandra loved the beauty of flowers and the joy of gardening. She worked tirelessly to beautify her home and its surroundings in Americus. She was a member of the Green Thumb Garden Club and enjoyed the friendship of its members. Sandra served terms as President of the Sumter County Federation of Garden Clubs and served as Co-Editor of Garden Gateways, the official quarterly publication of the Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. In her community service, Sandra served as President of the Sumter County Unit of the American Cancer Society. She was Chairman of the Americus Historical Zoning Commission, serving several terms by the appointment of two Americus Mayors. She coached several city league softball teams in Americus. She and her husband edited and published The Sumter Free Press for a number of years in Americus until shortly after the death of their son Brian in 2011. They sought to illumine and present local events in a helpful and positive style and manner. Among many lifestyle and other articles she authored and published was a weekly feature known as “Sandra’s Favorite Recipes” which was followed by many homemakers in Sumter County. In 1982 Mrs. Murray and her husband began a regular celebration of the New Year by preparing and serving a mid-day dinner consisting of traditional New Year foods. These were prepared fresh in her kitchen immediately before being served. She organized and trained a kitchen crew which returned year after year to help her prepare and serve the dinner. At first this meal was served to a few very close friends of her family. Later the guests grew into several hundred and in about 2005 she opened the meal to the public limited in number only by the capacity of her home to accommodate. When she met and married her husband Mr. Murray, he was then a young legislator in the Georgia General Assembly. After their marriage she assisted him and their Sumter County constituents during this time in Atlanta and attended legislative affairs. In her support of her husband’s professional career, Sandra was President of the Americus and Southwestern Judicial Circuit Bar Auxiliary. Since 1981 she had worked daily with her husband in his law practice as a paralegal and office manager. The two of them were present together in courtrooms from Atlanta to very rural Georgia counties while conducting jury trials of both civil and criminal cases, often achieving highly significant relief on behalf of their clients. In this capacity she has visited in prison facilities with persons needing help throughout Georgia, and frequently visited with their families in an effort to bring them hope and support. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.hancockfuneralhomeinc.com Hancock Funeral Home, 427 S. Lee St., is in charge of arrangements.