Greetings from the Closing Ceremony Committee

"Hail To MacMurray, A Fond Farewell" is a gift from the Board of Trustees of the College to you, the Alumni of the College, former faculty and staff, as well as administrators and friends of the College. Through careful planning by the Closing Ceremony Committee, it was intended to be a time for all of us to gather to mourn and to begin healing from the wounds of closure. It was intended to be a dignified and loving goodbye to this place we all cherish, and where we all lived, laughed, loved and learned. It was intended to help us all realize that from now on, MacMurray College must live on through each of us.

The Closing Ceremony Committee consisted of alums of the College from the 1960's to the Class of 2020. We were joined by former faculty, staff and administrators. The group met via Zoom for months to put together a meaningful ceremony for all to enjoy. I don't know when I've worked with a more dedicated group of individuals who were committed to making this ceremony a memorable experience. A hallmark of this dedication was the fact that fully one third of the Committee were unable to attend the actual ceremony. That didn't matter. They showed up to meetings and worked hard anyway. That's how the MacMurray Family operates.

As you view the video below, you should know that as a gesture of love and kindness, all of the people on stage during the ceremony, from our wonderful interpreter, to our world renowned organist, to our talented choir director, members of the alumni choir and every single speaker donated their time for this ceremony. Pretty astounding! Speaking of donations, the ceremony was made possible through an extremely generous monetary donation from Dr. Michael Royer, '91, a donation of flowers from Mr. John Austin Van Hook, '64, and the donation of the use of the chapel by Mr. Mike Hayes.

Please enjoy this labor of love.

Katie Richardson Petrikin, '77
Chair, Closing Ceremony Committee