Melinda Lindsey Murtaugh

Melinda Lindsey Murtaugh, a historian and longtime administrator with the State of Vermont’s Department of Mental Health, left this life on November 10, 2025, at home in Seattle after a brief, brave, and graceful battle with cancer. She drew her last breath from the comfort of her hospice bed, surrounded by family.

The only child of Earl Compton Lindsey and Will Cooper Lindsey, Melinda lived an extraordinary 82 years packed with academic pursuits, world travel, and — most precious to her — moments with her family, one that today stretches across four time zones. Her son and daughter, Frank Murtaugh III and Liz Murtaugh Gillespie, devoted the last three weeks of their adoring mother’s life caring for her night and day.

Born Melinda Jane Lindsey on October 15, 1943, she grew up in Etowah, Tennessee, and graduated from high school in three years. She was “Football Queen” in 1958 and valedictorian of Etowah High School’s class of 1960. Melinda was 16 when she started college at the University of Tennessee. She went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at UT, where she met her future husband, Frank Murtaugh Jr.

Melinda and Frank welcomed their son, Frank III, in 1969 in Knoxville while they were in grad school at UT, and Liz in 1974, in Atlanta, during their PhD studies at Emory University. (Frank III loves to point out that his little sister was born in Atlanta ten days before Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in the same city.)

In addition to Knoxville and Atlanta, the family of four spent a memorable academic year (1976-77) in Torino, Italy, where Frank and Melinda each did research for their dissertations. The family lived in Orange County, California, for three years, before settling in Northfield, Vermont, in 1982. For more than 20 years, Melinda threw legendary annual Kentucky Derby parties with Frank, packing their South Main Street home in Northfield, until Frank’s passing in 2005.

Melinda and Frank Jr. relished travel. They took many trips to Europe, touring England and Ireland, France, and Italy, where Michelangelo’s Pieta made the list of three sights that took her breath away. The other two: the Grand Canyon and Broadway. More recently, Melinda made her first trip to South America, traveling to Peru and exploring Machu Picchu with dear friends.

Melinda spent the better part of three decades working in the State of Vermont’s Department of Mental Health, where she was recognized for her leadership and public service in 2009. She beat breast cancer in 2012, a year before celebrating her 70th birthday with an epic surprise party attended by many friends and colleagues.

Melinda enjoyed more than a quarter century as a grandmother. Frank III and Sharon Murtaugh welcomed Sofia in 1999 and Elena in 2002. (She thrilled at seeing the sisters compete as softball teammates for White Station High School in Memphis in 2017.) Liz and Sean Gillespie welcomed Sylvia in 2006 and Tyler in 2009.

For the last four years of her life, Melinda lived a block away from Liz and her family in Seattle and made dear friends with several neighbors in the Angeline Apartments, who appreciated the sharp wit and Southern charm she brought to their weekly Wine Down Friday gatherings.

Melinda enjoyed cheering on Sylvia at track and cross country meets and braved many chilly ice rinks to watch Tyler play hockey. She loved Sunday dinners with her family, birthday celebrations, holidays, and the everyday joy of living close by.

A voracious reader, Melinda never went anywhere without a book or magazine to peruse during quiet moments. She loved that both her children became professional writers and left them more than 120 volumes of journals, which she religiously filled with hand-written memories, quaint accounts about life and world affairs, printouts of Facebook posts, news articles, and more. Melinda’s favorite historical figure was Winston Churchill, a man who would appreciate the Lindsey Family Motto, one she shared when seas got a little rough: Never give up.

Days before her passing, Melinda and her children made arrangements to have tissue from her tumors donated to Fred Hutch Cancer Center for future research — a gift befitting a woman who epitomized thoughtful generosity.

There are no immediate plans for memorial services. Her family will gather friends and loved ones, neighbors and former colleagues to celebrate her remarkable life in due time. 

To honor Melinda’s memory, please consider making a gift in her name to Fred Hutch Cancer Center at fredhutch.org.

Please share your condolences and memories of Melinda on her online guestbook below. 

- Care Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home -