Obituary for Alfred "Al" Murray
BOLTON: Al Murray, a longtime resident of Acton, MA and most recently of Bolton, passed away on Dec. 3, 2019. The son of the late Alfred F. Murray and Frances (Hoar) Murray, Al was born in Bellingham, MA and grew up in Lansdale, PA. He joined the Coast Guard in 1944 and served on the troop transport the USS Wakefield along with his father, a Navy Chaplin. Al and his family summered in East Machias, Maine, where he met his first wife, the late Nancy (Small) Murray.
Al was graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a creative director for TRW in Burlington. A talented commercial artist, Al also had a beautiful tenor voice that he lent to the West Acton Baptist Church, of which he was a longtime member. He also sang with a Concord barbershop quartet and the Acton Community Chorus, where he met his second wife, Ruth Ann (Gallagher) Murray.
Al was the quintessential gentleman, a man of deep faith known for his kindness, his gentleness, a wonderful sense of humor, and his overwhelming devotion to his family. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Ann, of Bolton, his daughter Lisa Murray, sons George Murray of Bolton, David Murray of Easton, Maine, Don “Mac” Murray of Rockland Maine, and Charles “Chip” Murray of Cazadero, California. He also leaves eight grandchildren, three of whom are the children of his late daughter Christy Murray: Lisa (Hill) Murphy of Rutland, Jesse Hill of Yarmouth, Maine, and Megan (O’Dowd) Thomas of Webster. He also leave granddaughters Nancy Kruszkowski of Ayer, MacKenzie Murray of Rockland, Maine, and grandsons Richard Kruszkowski of Madison, Wisconsin, George Murray of Ellsworth, Maine, and Miles Murray of Rockland, Maine, and two great-grandchildren, Ella and DJ Morse of Rutland. Al leaves a sister, Marilyn (Murray) Mahoney, of Montgomery, Texas, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and many friends.
A celebration of life service will be held on Sat. Dec. 14 at 2:00 p.m. at First Parish Church of Stow and Acton, located at 353 Great Rd. in Stow. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Al’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, by mail at Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014, online at MichaelJFox.org. Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com
Al was graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a creative director for TRW in Burlington. A talented commercial artist, Al also had a beautiful tenor voice that he lent to the West Acton Baptist Church, of which he was a longtime member. He also sang with a Concord barbershop quartet and the Acton Community Chorus, where he met his second wife, Ruth Ann (Gallagher) Murray.
Al was the quintessential gentleman, a man of deep faith known for his kindness, his gentleness, a wonderful sense of humor, and his overwhelming devotion to his family. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Ann, of Bolton, his daughter Lisa Murray, sons George Murray of Bolton, David Murray of Easton, Maine, Don “Mac” Murray of Rockland Maine, and Charles “Chip” Murray of Cazadero, California. He also leaves eight grandchildren, three of whom are the children of his late daughter Christy Murray: Lisa (Hill) Murphy of Rutland, Jesse Hill of Yarmouth, Maine, and Megan (O’Dowd) Thomas of Webster. He also leave granddaughters Nancy Kruszkowski of Ayer, MacKenzie Murray of Rockland, Maine, and grandsons Richard Kruszkowski of Madison, Wisconsin, George Murray of Ellsworth, Maine, and Miles Murray of Rockland, Maine, and two great-grandchildren, Ella and DJ Morse of Rutland. Al leaves a sister, Marilyn (Murray) Mahoney, of Montgomery, Texas, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and many friends.
A celebration of life service will be held on Sat. Dec. 14 at 2:00 p.m. at First Parish Church of Stow and Acton, located at 353 Great Rd. in Stow. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Al’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, by mail at Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014, online at MichaelJFox.org. Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com