Blanche Murray, formerly Blanche Richard, was born in 1930 in Warwick, Rhode Island and was raised in the community of Oakland Beach. She graduated from Rhode Island State College in 1941 with a degree in home economics and education. During her senior year, she was named the college's Co-Ed Colonel of the ROTC program, receiving her honorary commission from then Governor William H. Vanderbilt. The ROTC Co-ed Colonel served a social and public relations function. Duties included presiding at formal ROTC dances, parades, and reviews and to arrange and hostess informal parties for the ROTC cadets.
Murray was for many years a teacher of home economics at Tolman High School and in 1983 was named Home Economist of the Year by the Rhode Island Home Economics Association. She served as the first woman president of the URI Alumni Association and the URI Foundation. She served for six years as a member of the RI Board of Governors for Higher Education. In 1988 she along with her husband, attorney Daniel Murray ('35), received an honorary degree from University of Rhode Island.
From the guide to the Blanche Murray Collection of the Co-Ed Colonel, 1940-1941, (University of Rhode Island Library Special Collections and Archives Unit)
