Elizabeth Reid Murray

Elizabeth Davis Reid Murray, who died March 13, 2014, at Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community, Raleigh, was born Mary Elizabeth Davis in Wadesboro, NC, on June 10, 1925, to James M. Davis, MD, and Mary Kennedy Little Davis. A 1946 Meredith College graduate, her earliest career positions included continuity writer for Radio Station WPTF, Raleigh, and then program manager for WADE Radio, Wadesboro, NC. Her first husband was WPTF radio presenter and former mayor of Raleigh James W. (Jim) Reid, originally of Asheville. Jim Reid died in 1972. She married Dr. Raymond L. Murray of the Nuclear Engineering Department of North Carolina State University in 1979. Dr. Murray died in 2011.

Other career positions included Director, Meredith College News Bureau; editor, women’s section, Raleigh News and Observer; Executive Secretary, Governor’s Coordinating Committee on Aging for NC; research assistant to Dr. Clarence Poe; teacher, local history courses for Wake County Public Schools and Wake Technical College; local history correspondent, Raleigh Times, News and Observer, Raleigh Spectator, and Raleigh Magazine; member, Raleigh City Council (1973).

Her major published works are WAKE: Capital County of NC, vol. 1 (1983); WAKE: Capital County of NC, vol. 2 (2008), with co-author K. Todd Johnson; and From Raleigh’s Past (1965). Other published works include: editor and compiler, North Carolina’s Older Population: Opportunities and Challenges (1960); contributor, Windows of the Way (1964); editor, Wake County Historical Society newsletter, 1965-1969; editor/photographer, Wake County history filmstrip; guest editor, “Wake County Bicentennial” edition, Raleigh Magazine (1971); contributor to a history of the Raleigh Fire Department; contributor, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography (1979-1996); and contributor, Encyclopedia of North Carolina (2006).Awards: American Association State and Local History for From Raleigh’s Past (1965); first Meredith College Distinguished Alumna award (1970); W.P. Peace Award for best book on NC history (1983); Community Service Award, Raleigh Board of Realtors (1983); Wake County Phi Beta Kappa Award (1985); Silver Bowl Award, NC Museum of Art (1987); President’s Cup, Wake County Historical Society (1994); Anthemion Award, Capital Area Preservation, Inc. (1994).

Volunteer activities: Tryon Palace Commission; Raleigh Historic Sites Commission; Meredith College’s Board of Associates, Board of Trustees, Heritage Society, Carlyle Campbell Library, and Archives Advisory Committee; Raleigh Junior Woman’s Club; Raleigh Arts Council; Wake Memorial Hospital Auxiliary; NC Humanities Foundation Executive Committee; North Carolinians for Better Libraries; Wake Public Libraries Trustees; Pullen Memorial Baptist Church; Raleigh Mayor’s Committee to Preserve Historic Objects; Yates Mill Associates; NC Museum of Art Docents; Mordecai Historic Park; NC Executive Mansion; Raleigh City Museum Advisory Committee; Estey Hall Foundation Advisory Committee; The North Caroliniana Society; and Springmoor’s Archives Committee, Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and Library.

The Olivia Raney Local History Library houses the Elizabeth Reid Murray Research Collection, open to public August 2006.

Elizabeth is survived by son Michael Ernest Reid; daughter Nancy Kennedy Reid Baker; son James William Reid, Jr., and his wife Susan Burkheimer Reid; grandson Benjamin William Reid; granddaughter Hannah Kennedy Baker; brother Frank Little Davis and his wife Sharyn Howard Davis; sister-in-law Harriet Jones Davis; sister-in-law Lula Ann Pope Davis; and ten nieces and nephews.

The family of Elizabeth Reid Murray are grateful for the many good wishes and condolences they have received. A memorial service will be held at the Springmoor Retirement Community Auditorium in Raleigh on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 2:00pm. More information at www.brownwynne.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to any of the following:The Springmoor Endowment Fund, 1500 Sawmill Dr. Raleigh, NC 27615, The Olivia Raney Local History Library, 4016 Carya Drive Raleigh, NC 27610, Friends of the Archives, 4614 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4614

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Saint Mary’s St., Raleigh.