Claire Faust Stephens McMurray

Born in Santiago, Chile on July 6th, 1940, Claire grew up with her mother and father into the life of a family serving the US State Department. Her childhood included frequent travel and homes in South America, Central America and Lebanon.

Claire’s interest in the stars began early and ran throughout her life. She attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania initially for its well-regarded astronomy program, before switching to psychology and earning a Master’s degree. She later joined the L5 Society (now National Space Society) as part of her promotion of space exploration and settlement. She was co-chair of the NSS International Space Development Conference in Oklahoma City in 2004, and served in several other positions in NSS, including Board of Directors and International Chapters Coordinator. She was a freelance correspondent for the Norman Transcript for two space shuttle launches (both were front page stories). Though Claire never made it into space herself, she did get to experience weightlessness during a zero-gravity plane flight.

After her first marriage to John Kirker Stephens and moving to Norman, Oklahoma, Claire was also a fixture in science fiction events in the area. An early member of NOSFA (Norman Oklahoma Science Fiction Association), she was involved in running numerous Sci-Fi conventions, and was heavily involved in the sci-fi and fantastic music known as “filking.” She sang often, and wrote numerous filk songs, including one that was professionally recorded.

After her daughter Fern Margaret Stephens and son Owen Kirker Clifford Stephens had grown and moved out of the house, Claire and her first husband divorced. Claire spent several years caring for her own aging mother, working as an administrator for the University of Oklahoma, and continuing to be active in and promote her loves of both science fiction, and the true science of space exploration.

It was these interests that led her to meeting and in time marrying her second husband, Cliff McMurray. Claire called herself as “a World Traveler, with loved ones,” and Cliff was a loving and caring companion to that description. They did travel the world, visiting Hawaii and Alaska and most of the continental United States, as well as Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, China, the Panama Canal, Argentina, and Chile (on a cruise around Cape Horn). They toured Australia and saw a solar eclipse there for their 10th anniversary. Home base was Norman, where they spent time with and helped their family, and gave homes and love to numerous cats.

Though her health began to restrict her travel options in recent years, she remained an avid fan of travel, cats, music, and space. Her mobility lessened, but her passions never did. In the final months she became a resident of 24th Place skilled nursing in Norman, where Cliff spent most of every day with her, and other family and friends often visited.

Claire will be missed not only by her husband, daughter, son, grandchildren and great-grandchild, but by the communities she helped build, supported, and made better for her efforts.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Our Redeemer Anglican Church, located at 204 SW 104th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73139, United States. The service will take place on November 1, 2025, starting at 1:00 pm.