Charles Murray Obituary

Jeannie, so sorry to hear of your loss. You know it goes without saying that Eddie and I are continually praying for all of you. Will be in touch and come by to visit.

Love Beverly & Eddie

Nothing can explain how truly hard this is. Losing someone so important to you, it really hits home. I still cant believe how fast life is taken away. I still remember just a week before i picked him up from his studio apartment and took him to my house for fathers day dinner. We talked about me going to college and made plans for me to bring him a steak the weekend following. That was the last time i saw him before visting him in the hospital. I cant believe that it was grandpa sitting on the bed in front of me dieing. It hurt. I cried for days, but i came everyday and stayed for hours. We would sit and talk to him, he couldnt talk back but he would nod and smile a little, we joked about whether the nurses were hot and he smiled and shook his head yes. It was so funny. But in all i have to remember all the good times weve had. When we were younger my grandpa woul come pick up and me and my sister and we'd all go shopping we my grandma. Then after my grandma got sick he took us to see her everyday, he'd pick us up from school, then we'd go see her, and finally we would go to mcdonalds, his favorite thing. He would even order a hamburger to bring home to his dog, Sugar. After he got sick all he could talk about was how the food at the nursing home tasted so horrible, so i started bringing him steak and shrimp from my work, he really liked that. My grandpa was a great person even though he was so stubborn all the time. One of the best things he did for me that i will never forget is he assisted me in buying my first car for my 17th birthday. He was always there to help when needed. My grandpa was a wonderful guy was worked hard to serve his country and raise my wonderful mother. I will never forget him. Im almost glad that he is gone now, even though i miss him terribly, but now i know he is not in pain anymore, and most importantly hes with my grandma and i know theyre both watching down and protecting me everyday. RIP grandpa you will never be forgotten. I LOVE YOU>

Our sympathy on the loss of your father. The loss of ones parents is always hard no matter your age. I know that you are thankful for the good times you have had with him in his later years.

We did not know Bob but do know Jeannie and family. He sure raised a wonderful daughter . He was a real hero who loved his country. We am touched by the write up of his life. May he rest in peace with his wife.

Eulogy for My Dad, Bob

My dad, Bob Murray lived a long and interesting life. He was born on Sept. 2, 1926 in Brooklyn, NY. He grew up in a different era, where icemen delivered ice to you for your icebox. Of Jewish delis with pickle barrels outside that he sat on, where penny candy was 10 for a penny. Where hawkers sold vegetables calling out “Tomatoes, Potatoes and the little red things at the back of the wagon.”

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, my dad had a calling, he needed to serve our country. The only problem was that he was only 16, so he had his sister, Helen, go with him. She posed as his mother and gave her permission for him to enlist into the Navy.

Dad saw a lot during his years in the Navy and was actually recruited by John F. Kennedy to be part of his PT Boat crew, but dad declined. He said that he would be safer on a bigger ship. What he didn’t know was that the cruiser he was on would be bombed and he would be thrown from the “crows nest”, where he was on watch. Dad told me he was one of the only survivors. His back was broken and most of the bones in face were as well. What I learned recently is that his family had been notified that he was lost at sea and presumed dead. After he was patched up and well enough he went home, his father and brother, Frank thought they were looking at a ghost when he knocked on their door. His father was so glad to see him, he cried. It was one of the only times he was known to cry.

He left the Navy in November 1946 and enlisted in the Army in March 1947. He was stationed in Tokyo, Japan during the occupation after WWII, which is where he met my mother, Joyce. They were married on May 29th 1951 in the American Embassy, then in the Catholic Church on June 9th 1951.

He was sent to Korea during the Korean War, again feeling the need to serve. He did not talk about this much, all I know is that he had been injured. I once asked him how he got the scars on his leg, which he told me was where he had been shot during the Korean War.

During his time in the Army, he was stationed in Guam and joined the Military Police. He was eventually sent back to New York. Dad said he joined the Air Force because my mom wanted to go back to Japan so in 1958 he got out of the Army and enlisted in the Air Force. In 1960, dad was transferred to McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma. In 1962, dad was transferred to Taiwan where we lived until 1964. When we returned to McChord, dad retired from active duty, but spent the next 9 years in the Air Force Reserves.

After leaving the military, dad worked for Boeing as a security guard for a short period of time, then joined the Merchant Marines as he loved the sea. He worked for Standard Oil and traveled to Asia, South America and other exotic places. During one of his trips, they hit rough seas and he fell off a ladder reinjuring his back. After which he was no longer able to work. So he retired in 1975.

My dad enjoyed retirement. He and mom entertained friends and family from both far and near. They traveled to Canada and to other parts of Washington to visit friends and family as well.

When mom had her 1st stroke in 2000, dad visited her every day at the nursing home. He really showed how much he loved my mom. Some days, picked up his granddaughters, Lydia and Alyssa after school and took them to visit their grandmother. When my mom passed away in Aug. 2004, dad was never quite the same, he missed her terribly. He once said that he lived with my mom longer than he did his parents. It had to be hard to loose someone that you spent over 50 years with.

As you know, my dad was what some would call a character. He loved to tell stories about the war and his life experiences. He also liked to tell you about things he thought you needed to know. He was generous and appreciated what you did for him. He lived a long life and saw a lot of changes in his lifetime. He loved to eat and enjoyed a good steak. He loved his grandchildren and his great grandson. But he was a hard person to understand and to get to know. I some times feel like I didn’t know him very well.

Don’t feel bad because you were not able to visit my dad more often, my dad was a loner and preferred to be alone. He lived his life on his terms. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. Loosing a dad, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, a father-in-law, a brother-in-law, a friend, all of which my dad was, is difficult, and it is hard to tell exactly what we are feeling but together we will get through this. Let’s be happy that my dad is no longer in pain nor is he sick, and that he had been reunited with my mom. I’m sure that both my mom and dad are smiling down on us and will always be with us.

I got to know "Bobby" Murray after my father "made" me contact him even though I didn't know him. But I am glad I did! Bobby (and his wife) were generous people who made me feel like family. I would meet them at some of the oddest times of the evening when most people were asleep to eat Chinese food and play with the family dog(s) and pet bird. We would sit around and discuss current events along with walk down memory lane about family times.
I have missed them since I have been unable to see them like I use to. However, I have their daughter to help me to keep them "alive" through her stories and pictures of them.
I will miss them, yet know they are with my parents, their family and friends and (even) pets!
May they rest in peace and make their spirits known from time to time!
Thank you for sharing them with me.