Charles Murray Jr.

Charles William (Bill) Murray, Jr. passed away on June 25, 2021, at the age of 96 at his home in Denver. Bill was born on November 18, 1924, to Helen Louise Murray and Charles William Murray, Sr. Bill spent his youth in Manchester, Ohio, until the great 1937 Ohio River flood sent the Murray family packing to Cincinnati. Bill attended public schools there and graduated from Hughes High School in 1942. In 1943 he enlisted in the Army and was sent to the University of Pennsylvania to study engineering. While at Penn he met his future wife, Patricia (Pat) Clare Hall. In early 1944 Bill shipped out on the Queen Elizabeth for duty in Europe where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and other engagements. Bill was proud of his service as a demolition specialist in the Army Airborne, the two Bronze Stars he earned and the combined 27 training and combat jumps that he made. Bill returned home in 1945 and in April 1947 he began married life with Pat. They have three sons – Charles William (Bill) Murray 3d, John Allen Murray, and Michael Grant Murray. Bill earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati. After working as a professional engineer, teaching highway engineering at the University of Cincinnati, and serving as county sanitary engineer in Cincinnati, he went to work in 1967 for the Dept. of Interior in the Federal Water Quality Administration. Bill had a deeply felt love of the natural world which led him in 1971 to become a charter member of the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His professional life at EPA took him from Cincinnati to Denver to Boston to Washington DC to San Francisco and finally back again to Denver where he retired in 1991.

Bill’s years at EPA were the most satisfying of his professional life and he maintained a huge network of colleagues from his wide ranging career there. Throughout his long life this self-described “frustrated writer” was a prodigious letter and note writer who single-handedly strove to keep the US Post Office going. Bill’s Christmas card list at one time had over 400 recipients. In addition to his love of the environment, Bill was a voracious reader and an avid follower of current events. He had a lifelong love of jazz music and enjoyed telling stories about the musicians he had seen in person including Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and many others. In retirement, Bill devoted himself to his family and friends, and he enjoyed traveling, attending Elderhostel classes, following his favorite teams, dining at local restaurants, listening to jazz music, gardening, reading, taking walks, and adding to his collection of Southwestern art through regular trips to Santa Fe.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pat, in 1998. Bill is survived by his three sons – Bill (Janis), John and Michael (Elizabeth Mansfield), along with his grandchildren Nicole Bartreau-Murray (Adam Stenross-Russell), Miranda Bartreau-Murray, Oscar Murray, Steven (Daiane) Murray, Angela (Esteban) Romero, Sean Murray, Lena Murray and a step-grandson, Jon Sweitzer. His great-grandchildren are Avery Stenross-Russell, Logan Stenross-Russell, Dylan Stenross-Russell, and Elodie Hall Crouch. A few days before Bill’s passing, a fifth great-grandchild, Stella Romero, was born.

A Memorial Service will be held at the University Park United Methodist Church on Wednesday, August 4th at 10am. A committal service will take place at Fort Logan National Cemetery (Staging Area "C") on Wednesday, August 4th at 3:15pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Nature Conservancy or The Denver Hospice.