Today I attended a celebration of life for Murray and thought of the many things that made the man.
I first met Murray in '97 when I started senior skating. Murray was a very active skater and influenced others to skate and have fun.
Murray was lively, feisty and energetic. He was also kind, caring and thoughtful.
What I really liked about Murray is that he was a great story teller.
Murray had been a farmer all his life. He was a farmer from his boot toes to the top of his ears. Of course, his stories were farm stories. Since I was brought up on a farm I appreciated Murray's stories. It was easy to set Murray up to tell a story. Mention tractors and Murray had stories...green tractors , yellow tractors, red tractors. He had tractor stories! Mention storms and he had stories of snow storms, hail storms, wind storms, dust storms and thunderstorms. Mention crops and there were good, bad and bumper crops. Wells? He had many experiences with wells. Machinery breakdowns? He fixed them all. Cows? There wasn't any experience Murray didn't have with those darn cows.
So these stories were about a way of life and there was always something you could learn or take away from a story. Murray's stories were descriptive and memorable.
I mentioned Murray's story telling to his son today, and there was a big chuckle of agreement about his Dad's stories. He told me that his Dad had his first heart attack when he was 48. He said, "I don't think Dad thought he would have a long life so he lived and cherished each day that he had."
Murray was a great example of how to face challenges and live life to the fullest.
Murray and his stories will be missed.
