DeRemembering the best of Denise Murray
By Carmen García-King and Dalia Díaz
Among laughter and tears of joy, employees at the MassHire office remembered Denise Murray who died suddenly in her sleep on January 4, 2021. She had her share of heartaches during her life, particularly after her son Timothy was killed, and had the impetus to give to others in his name.
The office hasn’t been the same since her passing and so they decided to post a plaque to keep her joy and happiness present at all times in the Resource Room where Denise spent much of her time helping job seekers.
Denise kept her co-workers alive by doing the unexpected while they all agreed that her main concern was always her clients. She could be seen driving her clients to job interviews on weekends or taking them shopping at some second-hand store to get an appropriate outfit to meet a potential employer.
There was so much love in that room that it was inspiring to take a break from work to see how they care so much for Denise. They were hugging in tears while repeating the unpredictable things Denise used to do and say.
Executive Director, Linda Rohrer, was the first to say many kind things about Denise. She mentioned things like how much time Denise spent in the Resource and was always available to give a helping hand to anyone to how much Denise loved seafood, especially scallops. Then she went on to talk about the plaque and how words were chosen to reflect what Denise meant to so many. The plaque says, “A loving soul who touched the lives of many, March 29, 2023” and “Acts of kindness should be passed along.” Although there were tears as Linda unveiled the plaque soon came some humor, laughter, and food.
Lee Fickenworth and Raquel Centeno, two close friends of Denise, spoke about how they met each other and what a great friend she was to everyone she met. They spoke about how you would see Denise any given day/night giving out food/clothes, anything someone needed, and how she advocated so much to stop the violence in the community.
Co-workers like Mariah Germosen, Norca Disla-Shannon, and Lisa Remington talked about how Denise would volunteer with organizations like TMF to give food to the homeless, how she was known as an “Unbreakable Woman” for always smiling, having great makeup, and being happy no matter how tough life could be and how Denise would call them up randomly to talk about sales at a thrift shop or seafood sales at Market Basket.
Cheryl Dick, a co-worker, spoke about her 70-year-old father who was laid off and was fortunate enough to become one of Denise’s clients. He wanted to work instead of retire but knew that his age was a detriment. Denise worked tirelessly sending him on job interviews until he was hired at Vicor in Andover where he worked until he was ready and retired when he was 76.
She went on to also say that one day her father told her, “I think Denise has a thing for me” and she said “Dad, Denise has “a thing for everyone she comes in contact with.” Others continued sharing and much laughter was heard throughout the Career Center.
The comment arousing the most laughter came from another co-worker, Carmen García-King when Denise asked to help her fix her hair because it was crooked. Carmen, although she knew Denise for over a year, she had thought all along that it was Denise’s real hair.
To continue sharing just how pleased guests were attending, there was a board by the entrance where friends wrote messages of remembrance and a huge TV with a video (courtesy of Raquel Centeno) of Denise’s pictures with friends.
After the presentation, lots of goodies for everyone to share. Three beautiful cakes, one with Denise’s picture on it, from the bakery Carlos Cakes, and four different types of filled pastelitos, from Miguelina’s Restaurant, both places located in Lawrence, MA and of which Denise enjoy eating, along with water and ice-teas.
What a beautiful way to remember someone that meant so much to everyone!
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