Obituary of William Murray

MURRAY ~ Bill Murray passed away in Kitscoty, Alberta, on Thursday, November 6, at the age of 98 years. Bill was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on May 13, 1916, to Jessie and James Murray. Bill leaves to mourn his passing: his four children: Linda Murray & partner Sid Mihalicz, Rosemary & Wayne Eglauer, Jim & Rosella Murray and Dave & Wendy Murray; ten grandchildren: Shannon & Steve Marshall, Jeanine Sears, Jan & Richard Bourgeault, Carrie & Nick Steele, Les & Phebe Eglauer, Kenn & Cora Eglauer, Tamara Murray, Robyn Murray, Ashley Murray and Jason Murray; and nine great grandchildren. The Funeral Service for Bill was conducted from Kitscoty Community Church, Kitscoty, Alberta, on Tuesday, November 11, 2014, at 2:00 p.m., with Reverend Bob Aldrich officiating. Three great grandchildren recited "In Flanders Fields" to honour Bill's service in WWII. The honorary pallbearers were Jan Bourgeault and Carrie Steele. The active pallbearers were Les Eglauer, Kenn Eglauer, Jason Murray, Ashley Murray, Robyn Murray, Tamara Murray, Shannon Marshall and Jeanine Sears. Interment was held in the Kitscoty Cemetery, Kitscoty, Alberta. Donation in memory of Bill Murray may be made to the Council of Canadians or to a charity of the donor's choice. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta, administered the funeral arrangements. Card of Thanks Thank you to Reverend Aldrich, the organist John Scott, and the church choir. Thank you to Mallory, Kaitlin and Avery for a job well done with the poem. A big thank you to the community ladies for preparing lunch. Thank you for the food, flowers, phone calls, visits and prayers from all those who shared Bill's life. We would also like to thank those who sent cards and donations. Thank you to Dr. Sayeed for his care over the last few years. The Murray Family EULOGY for William "Bill" Murray Dad was born in Moose Jaw, SK, on May 13, 1916, to James and Jessie Murray. He lived his early childhood in Vancouver with his parents, his sister, Anne, who was two years older than him, and his brother, Charlie, who was two years younger than him. When Dad was about 11 years old, they moved to a farm near Kerrobert, SK. Dad and his dad went ahead in a box car with their two horses (neither of them bonafide work horses). When box car doors opened at Kerrobert, the horses bolted across the prairies. So that was their first job - rounding up two high-strung horses. The move to the farm was so they could have a better life and be better able to raise and feed a family, what with being able to grow your own food and all. Dad said that in the 10 years that they lived there, his folks endured 10 consecutive crop failures. In those years, he finished his grade 8, helped at home and on the farm, and worked where he could. He told us about one summer, when he was about 18. He snuck onto a train and rode a box car to Edmonton, as he had arranged to work for a dairy farmer near St. Albert. That fall, Dad spent most of his summers' earnings on a used bicycle, learned to ride it, and peddled back to Kerrobert. He had pavement to Leduc, and the rest was gravel and dirt. The trip took three days on a single-speed bike, and he slept in a school house and a straw stack along the way. It started to snow on the last day, and he remembers pushing his bike through the snow for the last 5 miles or so. Life had been very rough in that decade (The Dirty 30s), and in about 1940 or '41, Dad and his parents left the farm, and moved back to the Vancouver area. His sister, Anne, had become a nurse, and she spent her life in the Nanaimo area. Charlie had become a pilot in the airforce, flying Pathfinder missions in WWII. He was killed in 1943, when his plane was shot down over Germany. Dad joined the airforce in 1943, just two or three months before his brother was killed. He served as a Wireless Air Gunner in a Halifax bomber, until the war ended in 1945. That was 69 years ago. He and his crew mates flew a Lancaster bomber back home. The war was over, and while visiting old friends back at Kerrobert, he met the new school teacher from the Rosalind school, a country school just a couple miles from where his family had farmed. Her name was Aileen Wahlstrom, and she had grown up on a farm near Stockholm, SK. She thought he was quite a catch, he thought the same of her, and on July 18, 1948, at Stockholm, SK, our mom and dad were married. A honeymoon trip took them to Vancouver, where he had a mechanic's job lined up at a cousin's garage. This lasted for a year, but the desire to farm was still there. In the fall of 1949, he made a trip out to Kitscoty to look at a half section of land. He bought it with a loan through the VLA in Edmonton, and returned to BC. The next spring, Mom and Dad sold their car so they would have enough money for a tractor, bought an old 1929 Whippet for $50, and drove out to Kitscoty. This trip must have been one to remember. It was before the Roger's Pass was built, the car was 20 years old, and the road was so full of holes, that if you tried to miss one, you'd hit two. They bought another half section of land, and then began to farm. The first winter was spent in a large run-down house that some knew as the Doig house. Dad worked on a rig for that winter, then they moved to a smaller run-down house, which was in the yard that we now call home. It was a rough start (the first two crops were snowed under), and they are by no means the only ones who endured difficulties through all those years. They were one of them, though, and Dad, we want you to know that we are all proud of you. On the brighter side, their first born, Linda, arrived on July 21, 1950. Rosemary was born on November 2, 1952, Jim was born on April 11, 1954, and on September 25, 1960, I was born. The farming continued as a livestock and grain farm, while they raised their family, and worked to improve their home. In the beginning, they had a few pigs, a few cows and feeder cattle. He quit the pigs in the first few years, and sold the cows in the mid '60s. They had bought a mix master for the kitchen and powdered milk packages (mmmm... powdered skim milk. Actually we didn't mind it.) Dad has said more than once that that mix master that replaced the cows was one of the best equipment purchases he ever made. He got out of feeder cattle altogether in the late '70s. Now that I think of it, that pretty closely correlates to the time when the last of the free help left! The last of us had gone off to college. While the four of us were at home, Dad and Mom enjoyed supporting the activities we were involved in, such as watching our hockey and ball games. As each one of us grew up, helping on the farm and working with Dad was a big part of our life. Two things stand out to me. He said Rosemary was the best rock picker - Jim and Linda couldn't keep up. She just kept going! And Linda really liked to run the equipment. She was good at it. (Maybe drove the combine a little too fast though.) Backtracking a bit to 1964, Dad and Mom built a new house on the same spot that the little old house had been on. It's an event that I barely remember, but it was an exciting time for everyone. I came back home to farm with Dad in 1983, and Wendy and I still live in that house now. In 1987, they built another new house in Kitscoty, moved in there on December 31, and left me in the house on the farm. They had a good life there, still involved in their kids' and grandkids' lives, and Dad continued to help me on the farm (LOTS). Dad was very involved with the Kitscoty Golf Club from the beginning, when it was only a 3 hole golf course. He really enjoyed the game and the outing, and continued playing until he was in his 90s. He was also involved in the Chicken Supper program that Kitscoty used to hold. Most wouldn't picture him as the singing farmer, but I remember him practicing his songs outside at home, deathly afraid of forgetting the words on the big night. In 1999 our mom, his wife of almost 51 years, passed away. He took good care of her, and we're very proud of him for that. After Dad passed away we were going through some of his things. In his wallet, we found a small photograph of the two of them from their early years, as well as Mom's memorial card from 15 years ago, neatly folded to fit in his wallet. Over the last few years, Dad's farm role gradually moved from operating to supervising. He'd drive out often to see how things were going. He had an honest interest in it. In 2011, at 95 years old, he helped to swath some wheat with the Co-op swather we still have. He had bought it new, and was very familiar with it. All was good. (He did wait until it warmed up later in the morning to start, and disappeared for coffee if he felt like it.) I didn't hold that against him. Possibly his most productive moment was late one fall day last year. He pulled into Lloyd Thompson's yard as he often did. They had just finished harvest. Lloyd asked how he was doing and he replied: "Pretty good. I got David finished yesterday, just finished Jim Labiuk's this afternoon, and now yours too." He still had a good wit and a sharp mind. We are so grateful for that. On November 6, 2014, at the age of 98, Dad passed away suddenly, but peacefully, in his own home in Kitscoty. You can't get much better than that. David Murray