Loved Ones Mourn Kelly and Sloane Murray, Who Died When a Branch Hit Their Van

If it had only taken a few moments more to herd seven wet children into the silver Toyota Sienna minivan. If one of the girls had announced that her sandal was missing and a couple of minutes had been spent retrieving it. If the summer storm that hit Connecticut Avenue had managed to gum up traffic a bit more.

But the sudden torrent loosed a massive branch from a 44-inch-wide red oak, the branch struck the minivan and now some anonymous soul has placed a refrigerator on Sean and Kelly Murray's front step. Neighbors and friends are filling it with dinners and love because it is the only thing they know to do. A mystery donor came by during the funeral to mow the lawn, trim the hedges and sweep the driveway. To do something, anything; to find meaning in the random, solace amid the impossible.

Four hundred people signed up online to be able to bring the Murrays -- the father and the surviving five daughters -- meals or help out with the housekeeping. Professors at the college where Kelly taught counseling are asking students to soak in the lessons of her life. Thousands of people, touched by one woman, are finding one another even after she's gone.

On June 23, in her penultimate post on her Facebook page, Kelly Murray announced that she was in a very rare moment: "in a very quiet house . . . what do I do with myself?"

A friend suggested she sunbathe, nap and drink a cocktail.

"I could totally have eaten bon bons and missed my opportunity," Kelly replied. "Tomorrow I will do something strictly for myself and enjoy it!"

She died 80 hours later. She was 40. Her daughter Sloane was 7.

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Heading south into Chevy Chase on Connecticut in the middle lane, Kelly Murray was passing Columbia Country Club. Collision reconstruction specialists with the Montgomery County police think heavy rains and lightning prompted her to slow to 15 to 20 mph as she approached a green light.

She was more than halfway home from the pool, a 2.6-mile drive she had made countless times. It was the night before a swim meet, and about 70 parents and children had shown up for the picnic and pep rally. The Chevy Chase Recreational Association's Stingrays club chowed down on macaroni and cheese, rigatoni and sausage, and watermelon. Kelly served Caesar salad. She offered a choice: croutons or no croutons.

When the sky turned ominous, parents scurried to clean up and get going. Seven kids packed into the Murray car. Sloane sat on the lap of family friend Olivia Loome, 11, on the right side of the second of the van's three rows.

The red oak tree near the intersection with East-West Highway had shown no outward signs of rot or disease, said a spokeswoman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.