Susie McMurry
As Susie McMurry talks about her family, her friends and the work she does, you quickly begin to understand why she is so giving. Susie has a compassion and love for people and the world around her that is crystal clear. On a large scale, she and the McMurry Foundation give in big ways –funding a multitude of fantastic causes throughout the state. On a smaller, more intimate scale, Susie gives of herself honestly and completely to people she interacts with on a daily basis.
McMurry is a Wyoming girl who was born in Casper and grew up in Hanna, a community where everyone worked together to get things done. She got her degree in teaching from the University of Wyoming and taught in Casper for years, thoroughly enjoying being surrounded by children. McMurry quit teaching when she and her husband, Mick, adopted their daughter, Trudi. It was at this point that Susie became a full time mom and volunteer.
Starting off as a Hospice volunteer, for several years Susie worked closely with cancer patients. Recognizing the impact McMurry had on patients and families, an oncology nurse asked her to volunteer her services at the hospital and soon she was making the rounds- visiting cancer patients, helping families find resources, and attending to their needs in any way she could. Other doctors began requesting that McMurry visit their patients and it became clear that there was a need for patient support services.
In order to meet those needs McMurry established Gentle Hands twelve years ago at Wyoming Medical Center and she volunteers for the program nearly every day. The program is a success because McMurry truly cares. She will tell you that Gentle Hands “does anything that a friend would or could do for someone.” The hospital and its patients are fortunate to have McMurry and the program, but as you speak with her you get the sense that she feels that she is the lucky one saying, “It is very rewarding, and I get to meet so many wonderful people!”
McMurry is a leader in the community by all that she does, all that she gives and by the way in which she shows compassion for those who may be less fortunate or facing difficult times. When asked who has been an inspiring figure for McMurry, she shares the name Gail Kennah Crisp. She says Kennah Crisp helped her to “look beyond what is before my eyes; to look into my heart, to my family and to my background to understand that there is more to a story than what is initially presented.”
This kind and open approach to life has undoubtedly benefitted everyone that McMurry has encountered whether it be at Wyoming Medical Center, at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Wyoming where she is a board member, the Child Development Center where she volunteers and is a board member, or with her two girls and five grandchildren.
Giving back to the community is of utmost importance to McMurry. The only things more important: her family and faith. She will tell you she loves volunteering, but she loves being a grandma even more and she feels blessed with all that life has given her.
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