Colleen Frances McMurray passed away during the afternoon of Monday, November 21, 2011, at her home on Mountain Road in Clarkdale, Arizona. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire on November 9, 1955, she was 56 years old. She was the daughter of Dr. Homer F. and Dorothy L. McMurray, and little sister to Kevin. She grew up in Milford among sandy fields where the family kept some sheep, and it was there she learned to love animals, to watch Nature, and to explore. She graduated with Milford High School class of 1973, and by 1975 had graduated from Westbrook College of Portland, Maine and found a position as a medical assistant with a specialist in Nashua. Coming of age as the groovy hippie movement was maturing into a wilder, frenetic party, she fell in love with Harley Davidsons, Hot Rods, and a farm-boy from Lyndeborough named Leo Trudeau. After a few years, the two were married in Milford, and soon they built a home in Amherst where two children were raised. Colleen loved her children endlessly through her own adventure in life, from her commitment to be at home with them through their youth, to her brave undertaking of opening two Indian Arts & bead stores in Milford – Four Winds Trading Company & Gypsy Colors – which took the family on excursions into America’s Indian Country. Colleen felt deeply connected to the people, artistry, and landscapes of Native America, and for much of her life after the closing of her stores, she continued to travel to the Southwest. She was divorced from Leo in 1998, and stayed in the area, at times working with a Dermatologist in Nashua. In the autumn of 2009, Colleen went west to Arizona, to be among the red rocks, sunny skies, and new horizons; there, she spent her final two years exploring the rugged desert, riding a Harley with a close new friend, and camping beneath the dark western sky. She lived an exciting life full of strong family, good music, winding journeys, and spiritual inquiry. She was a lover of cats, bright colors, Turquoise jewelry, 57 Chevy’s, desert canyons, and taking the road less traveled. She is survived by her son Joseph Trudeau of Prescott, AZ; daughter Amy Trudeau of Lyndeborough; brother Kevin McMurray of Greenfield; sister Nancy-Ann Feren of Manchester; as well as many aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews in the Nashua region. Donations in her honor can be made to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah (www.bestfriends.org). A memorial will be held at 3 pm Sunday, December 11 at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Isaac Frye Highway in Wilton, NH. Colleen was a free-spirit in life, and surely now, having been called home by God, she is more than ever.