Recollections by Charlie Frost and Family Our family's association with Bob and Nancy Murdock goes back at least 60 years to the time when Nancy and Orrel Handy were in Athol High School together. Because Hubbardston could not provide secondary education, the town's high school students were transferred to Gardner and then Athol. The two girls spent several years together and apparently graduated at Athol High, judging from the fact that they both attended the AHS 50th reunion. In any event they formed a close friendship from the outset, kept in touch during Orrel's sojourn in England and her college years at Tufts. I do not remember Nancy being present at Orrel and Charlie's small wedding at the Handy home in 1951 (I might have been a bit preoccupied). Orrel and Nancy kept in touch by mail while their husbands were serving in the Navy. Our families visited each other fairly regularly after we moved to the Washington, DC, area in 1956. It was only a short drive up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Glen Burnie in those days. I believe we visited you in Minnesota on our way out to Australia, and by the time we returned you were in Downey, CA (or was that on the way back from Hong Kong?). After Nancy was transferred to the headquarters of the Social Security Administration and we returned to Rockville, MD, we rather picked up where we left off. After Charlie retired from federal service and joined the faculty of Truman State University in Missouri there were those wonderful summer visits in Maine. Bob and Nancy would come north from Baltimore for their respective family reunions and, happily, would usually spend a few days with us in the process. If we saw a fabric shop in northern New England we would make a mental note it for Nancy's next visit. A walk along Ogunquit Beach was often on the agenda, too. Charlie Frost (From Charlie's Daughter Pamela) My Dad called earlier this evening and told me that Nancy Murdock passed away yesterday. I honestly don't think it is a coincidence that Nancy passed away less than two weeks after her best friend and husband, Bob, did. They were a special couple - watching them as a kid growing up, I witnessed the special bond they had - it was like trying to figure out where Nancy began and Bob ended. I loved visiting the Murdock house in Glen Burnie, Maryland, in the 1960's. You see, my Mom, Orrel Handy Frost, was one of Nancy's best friends. It was a friendship that lasted more than 50 years and it started in eighth grade, I believe. Fortune or Fate brought these two girls together because their last names began with an "H". "Howlett" and "Handy". The girls would sit together in class. Nancy kept a running total of positive and negative attributes of the guys in her class and used to rate them numerically according to my Mom. I imagine they did a lot of giggling, too. I felt very fortunate that because of this enduring friendship, I could visit the Murdock's in Glen Burnie. Valerie became one of my best friends as a consequence. I remember that Nancy was a great cook. She showed my Mom how to make homemade noodles, I watched her cutting the dough. And Nancy could make incredible fudge, much of which I consumed on the sly!! Nancy and Bob kept in close touch with my Mom and Dad over the years, even during the time my parents lived in Australia and Hong Kong. When my parents moved to Maine, Bob and Nancy visited them there. For that week my Mom and Dad feasted on delicious meatless meals. And we always knew what was going on with the Murdock clan because of the "Murdock Muse." Bob and Nancy always made sure I had a hard copy of the Muse in the days before computers, no matter where I lived. I have every copy they sent me in my files. They made sure my little girl's art work was lovingly included in the appropriate issue. I'm going to miss these dear people very much. I'd like to think that my Mom was there in Heaven, waiting to greet Nancy and Bob, and that the giggling has begun again - this time with the angels. Lovingly, Pam Frost Clark, Richard Clark and Colleen Clark White

Thank You, Friends and Family of Robert and Nancy Murdock! I have many things to share about my parents and know that others do as well. The future Murdock Muse issues will be including additional memories as well as the usual submissions of letters, stories, etc. The Guest Book entries will be posted permanently in this Memorial issue before they go offline at the funeral home website. Sincerely, Darrel Murdock

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