Beloved patriarch, John Francis Murray, 95, of Charlotte Hall, MD, passed away on Friday, June 26, 2015. He was born September 29, 1919, to James H. and Mary Glynn Murray, in New London, CT, and had one sister, Mary Murray D’Amico. He spoke fondly of his hometown and his extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, as well as childhood friends, going to the beach, being a Boy Scout and an altar boy at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea, attending St. Mary’s School and Bulkeley School, from which he graduated in 1937.
John attended Niagara University, where he met Margaret Keenan, who would become his ife of 65 years. He graduated in 1943, Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. From Niagara, John attended Officers Candidacy School and received his commission as Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He served in the Pacific, 828th Amphibian Truck Company, 24th Corps, participating in landings at Leyte Gulf, October 20, 1944, and Okinawa, April 1, 1945. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and remained a reservist until 1951. John’s military service marked him indelibly: he credited the order and discipline with forming him as an adult, and he was inevitably marked by the horrors of war.
John and Margaret married in North Tonawanda, NY, on January 11, 1947. He received his Master’sDegree in Chemistry, conferred by Fordham University in 1950, and was hired that year by the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., where he and Margaret settled to raise their large brood; in his own words, “We went to Georgetown [University Hospital] every year or so and brought home a new member of the family.”
John worked at NRL until 1982 and was a member of the American Chemical Society for more than fifty years. At NRL John was also a consistent blood donor to the American Red Cross, contributing five gallons in his lifetime. John also taught Chemistry at Prince George’s Community College from 1962-72.
Throughout his adult life, John was an avid gardener, loved swimming, history, and visiting with family. He is survived by son, James H. Murray (Ellen) of Charlotte Hall, MD; daughters Margaret Brooks (Anthony) of Cobbs Creek, VA; Agnes Murray (Graham Walker) of Bronx, NY; Catherine Lunnie of Naugatuck, CT; Bridget Goddard (Thomas) of Danbury, CT; Rose Sills (Robert) of Deerfield Beach, FL; Mary Murray (Frederick Bauer) of Utica, NY; Monica Murray (Jane Talcott) of Vashon Island, WA; seventeen grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren.
He is predeceased by Margaret, with whom he is so very happy to be reunited.
Family and friends will be received for John Murray at Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, 30195 Three Notch Road, Charlotte Hall, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be on July 2, 2015 at 10 a.m., St. Mary’s Bryantown Catholic Church. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Charles County.
Life Celebration / Viewing
2:00pm- 4:00pm – 6:00 – 8:00pm, Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, P.A.
30195 Three Notch Road Charlotte Hall, MD 20622
Prayers
7:00pm,
Mass of Christian Burial
10:00am, Thursday, July 2, 2015
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
13715 Notre Dame Place Bryantown, MD 20617
Interment
Thursday, July 2, 2015
St. Mary’s Church Cemetery