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MURRAY -- Gladys Murray was born on July 5, 1914 and passed away at the age of 96 on November 15, 2010. Gladys is survived by her daughter, Karen Baker; son-in-law, Mike Baker; and granddaughter, Kim Baker. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Dunckley; and her grandson, Robby. Along with being devoted to her family, Gladys was also devoted to music. She was pulled out of school in 8th grade because they thought she was going blind, but in reality she was only nearsighted, so she started teaching piano lessons. This initiated her lifelong dedication to music. In the 1930's, despite not knowing anyone in California, she moved from Elmhurst, Illinois to Los Angeles. There she met and married Robert Dunckley Murray, and they spent their life together in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Los Gatos, California. Gladys always had a quick wit and was a spelling wiz. She enjoyed playing scrabble with her family, where she was known to occasionally invent new words. Then in true Gladys fashion, this would be followed by a fresh batch of cookies. Gladys saw a lot of life in her 96 years. As an organist, choir director and music composer, she was highly involved in church music. She completed many trainings, classes and even earned an Associate's degree in music. A celebration of life will be held at the Sandia Presbyterian Church on Friday, January 7, 2011 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Albuquerque Community Foundation's Music in Schools program: P.O Box 36960. Albuquerque, New Mexico 87176.
        Published on: Sun November 21, 2010