“We will hear his echoes in the hallways, and in those places that we gather to remember his life, we will carry that pain that reminds us of what was real- that will remind us of what he had meant to us,” Director of Religious Life Amy Shorner-Johnson said at the beginning of a virtual gathering to mourn Professor Thomas Murray’s loss and to celebrate his life.
Nov. 19, President Cecilia McCormick announced that Thomas Murray, a professor at Elizabethtown College since 1994, had passed away after battling an aggressive cancer diagnosis. Shortly after, the Chaplain’s Office held a virtual gathering where students got to share personal stories about their experiences with Murray during his years at Etown.
“In those 26 years, he wove himself into the fabric of Elizabethtown College’s identity not just as a professor but as a member of a long-standing group called the choir practice and inviting professors from different academic tiers to come together,” Shorner-Johnson said, describing how Murray was not just a professor here but served the wider community by bringing all of us together.
After quoting a passage of remembrance from the Book of Isaiah (43:16-19), Shorner-Johnson asked students to share their own experiences with Murray.
Senior anthropology and sociology major O’Livia McIntosh talked about how being mentored by Murray had changed her outlook on the world. As a kid, she was always interested in Animal Planet but joining Murray’s “Water, Water Everywhere” first-year seminar (FYS) class changed her interests into a foreseeable career.
“His FYS class is what really ignited my love for environmental issues… that is the biggest thing that is still driving me forward in my career choices, in my passions and in my hobbies. He really did that for me,” McIntosh said.
Then, sophomore occupational therapy major Olivia Eason shared her experience being a student in Murray’s Biology 111 Lab. She mentioned how “Dr. Murray was more than just a professor here at Etown; he was someone that you could always go to no matter what was happening.”
Indeed, this is evident in the story she shared about Murray helping her navigate Excel and teaching her how to use it. During the last semester, Eason made sure to make a stop by his office to say hello every time she was close.
“I can truly say that Dr. Murray will never be forgotten. Every time I walk past his office, I will smile, think of Excel and remember all the wonderful laughs we shared,” Eason concluded.
Sophomore biology major Jessica Bujak then added another memory from Murray’s lab: “Sometimes lab class would just drag on, especially since it was three hours long, and I remember that for his lab, he would always try to cheer us up by playing 2000s hits, and it would make labs more enjoyable, and I actually really enjoyed going to lab because of that.”
The last story came from senior chemistry major Jessica Kasper: “I remember that whenever we had a practical, Dr. Murray would always play ‘Try Not to Laugh’ videos… to boost our morale and make us feel like this exam might be something that’s important, but in the grand scheme of things, there is so much more to life than just college, and I think that’s something no other STEM professor has given me.”
She later added that “having Dr. Murray multiple times in my college career has helped me become a better scientist and person.”
Shorner-Johnson then said of his life’s work in fighting cancer, “One of the places where students would often see Dr. Murray was on the Relay for Life rounds and advocating for cures to cancer, and indeed, he has given his life towards that work.”
She then asked us to remember Murray and honor him in the little memories we have of his presence. “Sometimes it is helpful to remember that any pain we feel is the cost of caring and being cared for,” she concluded the celebration of Murray’s life by saying Students of Dr. Murray and ones who have never seen him alike left the mourning with a greater appreciation of all the wonderful things Professor Murray has given us.
