Jill Tracy (Murray) Draper

She attended public schools in St. Louis County and graduated from Parkway West High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Jill had a career in journalism and public relations, planning events and writing newsletters, and writing freelance articles. In recent years she wrote for The Martin City and South Kansas City Telegraph. She enjoyed gardening, especially with native plants; domestic and international travel to cultural, historic, and natural areas; walking her dogs Bitsy and Bonnie and taking Bonnie to the dog park; and painting portraits and landscapes. In every activity, she was always on the lookout for interesting people and places to profile.

She began her journalism career in the 1970s as a newspaper reporter for the Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore, Oklahoma, and the Evansville, Indiana Courier. She moved on to the news office at Washington University in St. Louis. She met Harold Draper, a graduate student at Washington University; they were married in 1982 and moved to Tallahassee, Florida, the next year.

While living in Tallahassee, she worked for the Florida League of Hospitals and the Florida Department of Education, where she organized the Florida Instructional Computing Conference. She had her two children while living in Tallahassee and Jackson, Mississippi. While taking care of her young children, she edited and published a professional journal for the Association of Consulting Foresters.

In the 1990s and 2000s, she worked in public relations and events planning for the Knoxville-Knox County, Tennessee, Metropolitan Planning Commission. She was also a Girl Scouts troop leader and organized family trips to nearby areas in the Appalachian Mountains.

In 2007, she and her husband moved to Kansas City. She worked in public relations and events planning for Powell Gardens and the City of Kansas City, Missouri, where she produced a quarterly employee newsletter and biannual magazine for the public. She also completed freelance writing assignments for local, regional, and national publications including American Forests, The Bark, Midwest Living, Missouri Life, and Kansas City Star. She was active in New Neighbors League monthly social events, book club and bunco groups. She served on the board of Gardeners Connect. She contributed to every issue of the Martin City and South KC Telegraph until she was no longer able to work in late 2025.

Jill traveled widely, visiting most of the 50 United States including Alaska and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Galapagos Islands, Europe, and North Africa. She enjoyed visiting historic cities and national parks during her travels.

Jill had spiritual interests and a lifelong involvement with the Anthroposophical Society. She participated in local groups in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Lawrence, Kansas.

Jill was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by husband Harold, daughters Julia and Karen, and brother Scott Murray.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to DeepRootsKC, https://deeproots.org/ , Post Office Box 32131, Kansas City, Missouri 64171, or the charity of your choice.

A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, located at 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64131, on January 23, 2026, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.