Rosemary Knapp Murray, EdD

MURRAY - Rosemary Knapp, EdD.

July 17, 1940 – June 18, 2026

Dear mother of Lisa (Paris) Murray-Roselli and Thomas P. (Kimberly) Murray III. Loving grandmother of Julia Roselli, Christina Roselli, Connor Murray, and Keira Murray. Sister of the late Kathleen Mallea. Daughter of the late William and Marion Kennedy Knapp.

A beloved and distinguished teacher and professor, Rosemary began her career at the Philip Sheridan Elementary School in the Town of Tonawanda. After substitute teaching in the KenTon District, she began work as an Assistant Professor at the College Learning Lab/Campus West (CLL/CW) on the Buffalo State University campus where she taught elementary and middle school students and oversaw the work of many Junior Participants and Student Teachers from the Education program at Buffalo State. She was also the Program Coordinator for Curriculum, Reading, and Testing.

During that time, Rosemary earned her Master’s degree in Education and, in addition to her work at the CLL/CW, began teaching evening classes in study skills, English, and English as a Second Language for the Consortium of the Niagara Frontier at Attica, Collins, and Wyoming Correctional Facilities. She loved working in the prisons and her colleagues at the Consortium. Her particular brand of high expectations, respect, and good humor were a perfect fit for the job.

When the CLL/CW transitioned to a Buffalo Public School, Rosemary became an Associate Professor of Elementary Education and Reading for both the undergraduate and graduate programs at Buffalo State University. Concurrently, she worked to earn her Doctorate in Education and continued to teach in the prisons. In her last couple of years with Buffalo State University, Rosemary served as the Director of the Graduate Reading Program. All of this was done while raising Lisa and Tom, putting them through private schools, and giving full devotion to a series of Siberian Huskies.

After nearly 22 years with Buffalo State University, Rosemary shifted her talents and drive to Canisius University in 2000, where she assumed the position of Associate Professor in the Graduate Literacy Program/Department of Graduate Education and Leadership. From 2007 until her retirement in 2018, Rosemary held the position of Director of the Literacy Center and Chair of the Graduate Education and Leadership Department. She was also a member of the College/Faculty Senates at both universities.

The love and respect of her colleagues and students followed her throughout Rosemary’s life, as many became lifelong friends. She projected to the world that hard work and having fun are NOT mutually exclusive. Rosemary’s dinner parties were legendary: great food, inspiring conversations, and lots of laughs. She was constantly bringing people together from all areas of her life, creating friendships and alliances where they might never have existed. And her children and their friends were always welcome at these gatherings.

Rosemary loved nothing more than a house full of people, especially at her beloved cottage at Hanford Bay where she spent the most precious time with her grandchildren, family, and friends. At the beginning of the season, she would often say, “Let’s have fun this summer!” Her joy, her welcoming spirit, magnetic personality, and “it will all be fine” attitude propelled her through a magnificent, challenging, beautiful life.

Friends may call at the D. Lawrence Ginnane Funeral Home 3215 Delaware Ave., Kenmore, NY Thursday (July 16th)  4:00 – 7:00 PM. All are invited to Mass of Christian Burial at St. Joseph University R.C. Church 3269 Main St (near Winspear St.) Buffalo, NY Friday (July 17th) at 10:00 AM. Please meet at church. Entombment at Mt Olivet Cemetery. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rosemary Knapp Murray, EdD, please visit our floral store.