Koral Nichols Murdoch

On Thursday, November 26, 2020, Koral Nichols Murdoch, loving wife, mother of two children, grandmother of eight grandchildren, and great-grandmother of three great-grandchildren passed away at the age of 82. Koral was born on March 21, 1938, in the family homestead (circa 1796) in Galilee NY, just outside of Ogdensburg, NY, to Willard and Susan (Dewey) Nichols, and was the oldest of seven children. She grew up on the family farm in Ogdensburg until 1956 when she attended the St. Lawrence Academy Nursing School. She earned her Nursing certification in the Spring of 1958 and began working in Syracuse. She met her husband, James (Larry) Murdoch, a U.S. Air Force Sergeant attending the language school at Syracuse University, at a dance in December 1958. A quick romance ensued, and Koral and Larry were engaged by the end of January and married on May 23, 1959. The newlyweds moved to Germany in mid-1959, on Larry’s assignment to Bremerhaven on the North Sea. While stationed there, they traveled to nearly every free European country, missing only Spain. Upon Larry’s discharge, they moved to Laurel, Maryland. Koral worked at Prince George’s County Hospital’s pediatric ward while Larry attended the University of Maryland College Park. She later became a Physician’s Assistant, and she practiced medicine at Columbia Medical Plan in Columbia, Maryland for many years. Koral and Larry raised two children, George and Susan, in Columbia. Koral had a passion for her family, her patients, and her church community. The consummate host for holiday gatherings, she was the matriarch of a large family of brothers, sisters, and children, all of whom could count on a welcoming table, plentiful food, and warm conversation in her kitchen. Koral served loyal patients in her medical office with competence and grace, and always a kind word. An active member of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church community in Highland, Maryland, Koral was an active member of many groups including the United Methodist Women and the Mary Martha Circle. Koral is survived by her husband, Larry, her two children and their spouses, George and Amy Murdoch and Susan and Michael Wilmeth, her grandchildren Heather and her husband Nick Riley, Joe, Grace, Andrew, Hope, Alex, Sam, and Charlie, and her great-grandchildren Aria, Brooke, and Calvin. She is predeceased by her brother Bruce Nichols and her sister-in-law, Patricia Nichols, and is forever held in the hearts of her brothers, sisters, and their spouses, Lucy and Frank Martin, Ben Nichols, Mary Nichols, Clark Nichols and Nancy Moroso, Rose-Marie and Ron Meservey, Susan and Dan Ulrich, and many, many nieces, nephews, and their families. Pursuant to COVID recommendations by the state, a memorial service will be planned in 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mt. Zion UMC Open Doors Food Pantry.