Hundreds Gather For Katonah Native Killed In Newtown

KATONAH, N.Y. - Hundreds of people waited in line up to three hours Wednesday to pay their respects to the family of teacher Anne Marie Murphy, formerly of Katonah, who died in the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut.

Hundreds of mourners paid their respects to the family of Anne Marie Murphy, 52, at her wake in Katonah on Wednesday. Murphy, formerly of Katonah, was one of the teachers who died in the Sandy Hook school tragedy.
Photo Credit: *Liz Button*

Anne Marie Murphy was the daughter of Dr. Hugh and Alice McGowan of Katonah. She is survived by her husband, Michael, and four children.
Photo Credit: *Facebook*

Mourners crowded into Clark Associates Funeral Home on Wednesday night.
Photo Credit: *Liz Button*

Ar 6 p.m., the line snaked all the way down Edgemont Road and doubled back to the funeral home's entrance.
Photo Credit: *Liz Button*

by Liz Button

12/19/2012 7:00 p.m.

A massive line of mourners crowded into Katonah’s Clark Associates Funeral Home on Wednesday evening, snaking around the side of the building, down Edgemont Road, and doubling back to the entrance.

Murphy was one of six school staff members who, along with 20 first-graders, died Dec. 14 in the shootings at the Newtown, Conn. elementary school. A 14-year resident of Sandy Hook, Conn., she was 52.

Murphy was born July 25, 1960 in Mount Kisco, the daughter of Dr. Hugh and Alice McGowan of Katonah. She graduated from St. Mary’s School in Katonah and John F. Kennedy High School in Somers, then went on to Southern Connecticut State University for a master's degree in education.

Murphy is survived by her husband, Michael; her children Kelly, Colleen, Paige, and Thomas; her parents, Dr. Hugh and Alice McGowan of Katonah; and siblings Mary Pat of Ridgefield, Conn.; Alice of Newtown, Conn.; Catherine of Katonah; and Hugh of Pawling, Thomas of Somers and Peter of Troy.

As of 6 p.m., five hundred people were waiting in line to pay their respects, according to an estimate by a member of the Katonah Fire Department. Bedford police were also on hand to direct cars and manage parking during the wake, which lasted from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, Dec. 20 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary Of The Assumption Church, 117 Valley Road in Katonah. Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Somers.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Autism Speaks.

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