Alice Louise Murray

Alice (Deasy) Murray, 81, of Las Cruces, NM passed away on April 4, 2023. Alice was born on August 4, 1941 in Chicago, IL to George Deasy and Margaret Tuttle. She grew up in the largest Irish Catholic neighborhood in Chicago with her brother Dennis and sister Kathleen and went to St. Mel's school. She loved to visit the Chicago Art Institute. Upon her family moving to New Mexico, Alice worked as a babysitter, bus girl, store clerk, waitress and secretary. She purchased her first car at sixteen and promptly painted "La Nueva Cucaracha" on the rear fender as it was a shiny copper penny brown. It had unreliable brakes, so Alice always drove like a turtle. Alice attended Las Cruces High School (class of 1960). In 1966, Alice met her future husband, Harry, at a party in El Paso, TX where a little bird whispered in her ear that he was the one she would marry. They were married on Christmas Eve that year in Las Vegas, NV. After marriage, she and Harry lived at White Sands Missile Range, in California, Missouri, Virginia and Arizona before returning to Las Cruces. In her late 50s, Alice began painting kiva ladders with Native American designs and formed Spirit Ladders of New Mexico. She marketed her ladders through a national publication and began painting custom designs with Native American stories for her customers. After retiring, she did some traveling and enjoyed spending time with her two great granddaughters. Alice was preceded in death by her parents, George Deasy and Margaret Tuttle Deasy; and brother Dennis. She is survived by her husband Harry Murray; sons Edward Murray (Pamela) of Orlando, FL and Richard Murray (Vickie) of Snowflake, AZ; daughter Shannon Murray (Victor Villalobos) of Las Cruces; sister Kathleen Deasy; Granddaughter Jennifer Murray Petracca (Brian); and great granddaughters Savannah and Naomi Petracca of Las Cruces. She will be greatly missed by all. The family will be having a private memorial for Alice "Little Turtle" on Easter Sunday.