Cara Murtagh passed away unexpectedly on Friday, November 29th, 2019. Cara spent 23 years within Peabody Public Schools including teaching at St. Johns the Baptist, becoming Vice Principal and Principal of the Carroll School, Principal of the Center School, Assistant Superintendent and later earning the Superintendent position. Her commitment and endless devotion to the students and teachers of Peabody helped shape our community to what it is today.
Cara was an active member of our foundation where she attended monthly meetings, helped spearhead many of our programs and celebrated the achievements of educators and philanthropists from within our community. Throughout her years as a member, our entire foundation leaned on Cara for her knowledgeable insights into what Peabody Public Schools needed the most. She was able to pinpoint EXACTLY what each school needed and what programs would benefit that specific school.
At our monthly meetings, Cara would present new and creative programs to us that she knew would have an impact on the students of Peabody. Cara played a major role in our PEF Grants process where we provide teachers with grants to help fund resources and events that fall outside of the normal school budget. Year after year, Cara assisted and guided us in selecting what programs/events would benefit each school, as her wisdom and knowledge into our school systems was truly unmatched. Along with helping the students of Peabody, Cara helped recognize the achievements of educators and philanthropists from within our community through our George Peabody Legacy award. She would go through the applications with us and highlight those in our community who go above and beyond for our students.
We became a stronger, more impactful foundation because of Cara and to say we will miss her immensely would be nothing short of an understatement. Cara’s generosity, compassion and wisdom will live on in our City and our foundation forever.
On behalf of our foundation, we extend our deepest condolences to Cara’s family, friends, colleagues and students during this difficult time. If you would like to make a donation in memory of Cara to our foundation, please use the form below.