Jami M. Murray
October 17, 1977 – December 4, 2022
Jami Murray, 45, passed away from metastatic breast cancer on December 4, 2022.
Jami was born on October 17, 1977 and raised in Alpena, Michigan. Jami enjoyed school attending St. Anne’s Catholic Grade School and Alpena High School, graduating in 1995. After high school graduation, she moved to Freeland Michigan and attended Saginaw Valley State University.
A wonderful friend, Andrea Paxton, introduced her to Jason Murray. She and Jason were married on December 19, 1998. Although cut short, their marriage of 23 years was special. They laughed together, traveled together, made hard decisions together, and built an exceptional family together.
They welcomed their daughter Allison Marie in 2003 and their son Elliot James in 2006. Jami most wanted to be remembered as a wonderful mom. Jami considered raising her children as the absolute greatest honor and greatest accomplishment. There is no way to describe a love so huge and infinite.
The family lived in the Chicago area for five years before finally settling in Saint Charles, Missouri. Jami graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. From 2009 to 2020, she taught at Zion Lutheran School in Saint Charles, Missouri in several grades, but found her passion teaching 7th grade homeroom and 7th and 8th grade history. She loved teaching.
She loved the challenge of working with middle school students who she felt were exciting, engaging, and perfect for her sense of humor and expectations. Jami met many amazing families, students, and friends at Zion Lutheran School. She found it to be a second home, filled with love, mercy, and grace. She desperately missed teaching when cancer forced her into early retirement.
She was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and teacher.
She is survived by: her loving husband, Jason Murray; her beautiful children Allison and Elliot, her parents; John and Karen (Wikaryasz) Crudden, her siblings, Nicole (Dave) Foster and John (Karen) Crudden and her mother-in-law Gloria (Becker) Murray, nieces Kylee Chojnacki and Katherine Crudden, and nephews Jared Chojnacki and David Crudden. She was also loved by many in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. She was preceded in death by her grandparents Theodore and Faybelle (St. Onge) Wikaryasz and Bernard and Mary (Barrie) Crudden, and her father-in-law James “Ike” Murray.
Visitation was December 17, 2022 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Zion Lutheran Church, Saint Charles, Missouri. The memorial service took place at 12:00 pm followed by the burial in Zion cemetery.