Gundi Maria Murray

Gundi Maria Murray, of Richmond, Virginia, died on January 30, 2025. Born and raised in Austria, she was one of three daughters of Adam and Radegunde Penninger. Born in 1938, at the start of World War II, she grew up in post-war Austria in the small town of Leoben, living above and working in her father's coffee shop. She loved to travel, particularly in Italy, and after attending hotel school and honing her Italian and English, she landed a job at a hotel, on the beach, in Grado. At that hotel, she met a young American veteran and chemical engineer, on assignment in Italy, and they fell in love. Together they made the leap to Buffalo, New York, where they were married and where her children, Tina and Sean, were born. After a short time, they moved to Chester, Virginia, where she would love and raise her family. Later, she would become a citizen of the United States. She was an avid gardener and succeeded in surrounding their home with her dream of an English garden. She always found joy in a good debate and kept herself well informed with American, British, German, and Italian newspapers. Gundi was preceded in death by her husband, Edward; and her sister, Eva Schnitzer. She is survived by her children, Tina Wright and her husband, Jeff, and Sean Murray and his wife, Chris; her granddaughter, Anna Murray; her sister, Gerlinde Mazawrakos; and other extended family. Interment is planned for May, at Sunset Memorial Park, in Chester, with a memorial service planned in Leoben, Austria, later that month. Gundi loved animals, so in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).