Murray, Henry R., Sr. 1933 - 2013
MURRAY, COUGHLIN, MCNAMARA, GREEN, TALLMAN, GOODLAXSON, COOPER, GOLTZ, WATERS, NIXA, LAW, SORENSEN, MCNAMARA, DREW
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 8/5/2013 at 17:13:43
IOWA CITY - A Mass of Christian Burial for Henry "Hank" R. Murray, Sr. of Iowa City, Iowa was held at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 29, 2013 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City with Rev. Steven Witt officiating. Interment was held in St. Joseph Cemetery in Iowa City.
Visitation was held 3-6 p.m. on Sunday, July 28 at Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with a vigil service held at 3:30 p.m.
Hank, 79, died Tuesday, July 23, 2013 peacefully at his home following a lengthy illness.
Henry R. Murray, Sr. was born Oct. 2, 1933, in Cresco, Iowa, the seventh of eight children of Raymond and Margaret (Coughlin) Murray. He was a graduate of Cresco High School and attended the University of Iowa where he received a scholarship to play baseball. Hank was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity where he met his wife, Connie McNamara, at a fraternity-sorority exchange dance.
On July 16, 1955 they married at St. Mary's Church and continued to dance together for the next six decades. They could often be seen laughing and enjoying themselves on their standing Saturday date night.
Hank was employed, and later managed, the McNamara Furniture Store on the corner of Linn and Washington Streets in Iowa City, a business which was established in 1928 by his father-in-law. He was later associated with Robison Furniture and People's Furniture.
In their later years, after raising eight kids, Hank and Connie enjoyed traveling. Some of their favorite destinations were New York, Ireland and Chicago - "his kind of town."
Hank was a proud Irish Catholic Democrat whose life exemplified the values of faith, loyalty, commitment and social justice - always advocating for the underdog. He was an avid Hawkeye and White Sox fan with a passion for telling entertaining stories and making others laugh!
Hank is survived by his wife Connie, and their children: Henry "Hank" Jr. (DeaDea) Murray of Muscatine, Tim Murray of Chicago, Terry Murray of Iowa City, Maureen Green of Brookfield, MA, Elizabeth (David) Tallman of Davenport, Julie Goodlaxson and Edward Murray, both of Iowa City, and Jeani Murray of Washington D.C.; his grandchildren: Kyle (Natalie) Murray, Shauna and Kenzie Murray, Sara and Rachel Murray, Ryan Cooper, Andrew and Michael Green, Riley and Tommy Tallman and Sarah (Kurt) Goltz, Kalvin and Dillon Goodlaxson; two great-grandsons: Kyle Goltz and Angelo Waters; his siblings: Elizabeth Nixa of Mason City, Margaret (Ron) Law of Ankeny and Raymond (Mary Lou) Murray of Cresco; and sisters-in-law: Joan, Marilee and Elaine Murray and Jean Sorensen.
Hank was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers: Tom, Bob, John and Ed; his in-laws: Jay J. and Edna Dempsey McNamara; and brothers-in-law: Jay F., R. Drew and Robert McNamara and Kurt Sorensen.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorials be directed in Hank's name to the Mayo Clinic for cancer research in honor of Drs. Kenneth Wang and Sanjay Kalra, www.mayoclinic.org/development or Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905.
Source: Cresco Times Plain Dealer website
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