PEABODY — Just three days after learning of the tragic, sudden death of School Superintendent Cara Murtagh, the community was dealt another blow on Sunday when the city’s high school assistant principal died unexpectedly.
Judith Maniatis, vice principal of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, died Sunday morning, Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt confirmed in a text message to The Item.
“She was a wonderful educator and school administrator and her passing is a huge loss for our high school community,” Bettencourt said.
City Hall will be the focus Thursday and Friday for a wake and funeral allowing residents to pay their respects to late Murtagh. Service details for Maniatis have not been made public.
Murtagh, 44, died Thursday evening at Salem Hospital, according to an obituary posted online by the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home.
A statement posted on the Peabody Public Schools website said public visiting hours will be Thursday, 3-8 p.m., in Wiggin Auditorium in City Hall, 25 Lowell St.
Murtagh’s funeral will be from Wiggin Auditorium on Friday at 10 a.m. followed by burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Public schools will be closed on Friday.
“In order to prepare our community for this event, we will have an early release day on Thursday, Dec. 5 with Peabody Veterans Memorial High School dismissing at 11:30 a.m.; Higgins Middle school at noon and all the elementary schools at 12:30 p.m. The parent conferences scheduled for the Higgins Middle School on Thursday will be postponed to a later date,” said the School Department statement.
It’s unclear how the two losses will affect leadership in the Peabody schools. Interim or long-term plans to replace the two positions have not been determined, Bettencourt said.
“Right now, our focus is on grieving for and honoring two wonderful educators whose passion and commitment to our students touched the lives of so many across our city,” Bettencourt said. “We will certainly be addressing these positions in the near future, but right now, we need to support one another and heal as a community.”
Murtagh worked in Peabody schools for 23 years, starting as a first-grade teacher at St. John’s School, according to her obituary, and climbing to become superintendent in 2018 overseeing 6,000 students and 1,000 school employees.
She taught at the Carroll School and served as the school’s vice principal for seven years. She served as Center School principal for a year, then returned to the Carroll School to serve as principal for several years before being named assistant superintendent.
The funeral home’s obituary stated that Murtagh, daughter of Carol (Santangelo) Murtagh of Peabody, and the late John M. “Jack” Murtagh, was a Peabody native.
She was Bishop Fenwick High School graduate, Class of 1993. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1997 from Emmanuel College and earned her master’s degree there.
She is survived by her mother; her sister, Kim Murtagh of Peabody; her brother, Sean Murtagh and his wife Colleen of Greenbush, NY, and her niece and nephews, Ashley, Michael, and Jack Murtagh.
Murtagh’s obituary stated that In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to Peabody Education Foundation visit www.peabodyedfoundation.org
Item reporter Gayla Cawley contributed to this report.
