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Lane Stone Murray
Service: Friday, August 7, 2009 4:00 PM St. Thomas Catholic Church 1323 16th St Huntsville,, TX	VIEW/SEND CONDOLENCES
Dr. Lane Murray Nov. 6, 1921 – Aug. 3, 2009 Lane Murray was born Joyce Elaine Stone in Celina, Collin County, TX, on Nov. 6, 1921. She grew up on a cotton farm in a small west Texas town as the only daughter and youngest child of E.J. and Elise Stone, with one older brother Jack. The three of them have preceded her in death. At age 15 she graduated from Sudan High School, Sudan, TX, and attended Texas Tech University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in English and education in 1942. In 1952 she received her Master of Education degree from Sam Houston State University. In 1962 she received her Doctor of Education with a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Houston. She was appointed to the faculty of Texas A&M University in 1960-69, distinguishing herself as the first woman to hold a full-time faculty position in A&M’s College of Education. In 1969 Dr. Murray became the pioneer of the school district concept within a state prison system when she was named by Dr. George Beto to be founding superintendent for Windham School System, Texas Department of Corrections. With no model to follow, Dr. Murray recognized the need for an innovative, nontraditional approach to education of the incarcerated adult felon. She identified and implemented a non-graded, competency-based approach to instruction in a prison setting. The Windham School System model of instruction was a non-graded system where mastery learning was the goal. With her direction, curriculum bulletins were written for all the basic instructional disciplines, and assessment measures were standardized district-wide. All 50 campuses were accredited by the Texas Education Agency and the Association of Colleges and Schools at the time of her retirement in 1994. Every one of the 254 counties in Texas sent students to her schools. Among her accomplishments, she served two terms as national president of the Correctional Education Association. With Dr. Murray’s leadership, CEA developed from a loosely knit group to a collective voice powerful enough to influence national legislation. She also held a life membership of the American Correctional Association and was a recipient of the prestigious E.R. Cass Correctional Achievement Award. She also received the Blue Ribbon from the American Film Festival, New York City, for the film “Lions, Parakeets, and Other Prisoners,” a docudrama depicting Windham’s inmate student creative writing project. In 1989, Dr. Murray was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. Later in 1995, when then Texas Governor George W. Bush gave the keynote at the prison dedication of. Lane Murray Unit, named in her honor, he opined, “I knew how important Dr. Lane was when I discovered that she had been inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame before my momma.” Dr. Murray was married to the late Thomas F. Murray, SHSU professor of education. She is survived by her children, Stone and wife Betty Murray, Joyce Murray Boatright, Mark and wife Michelle Murray; her grandchildren, Drew and wife Katy Murray, Rich and wife Claudia Murray, Matthew and wife Sharon Anderson, Megan Lane and husband Ron Fielden, Tracie and husband Doug Mauldin, Keelan Murray, and Kolby Yarnell. She is also survived by eight treasured great-grandchildren, and a host of beloved friends, including Carlene Reinhart, Carolyn Baxter, Alice Fisher, Vanessa Thueson, Laura Floyd, Chris and Pat Tracey, Jim and Barbara Riley, Tom C. Cole, Jr., Trenda Coburn, Gene Ennis, and Fr. Steven Paine, to name a few. She also is survived by a brother-in-law Joe and wife Judy Murray, and two sisters-in-law, Kay Murray Tarski and Jean Murray Parker, along with 14 nieces and nephews. A rosary will be held at St. Thomas Catholic Church on Thursday at 7 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at the church on Friday at 4 p.m. A reception will be held at the family home, 1422 Avenue O, following Friday’s service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to Casa Juan Diego, P.O. Box 70113, Houston, TX, 77270, or to the charity of your choice. Those wishing to leave memorial condolences for the family may do so at www.shmfh.com