My Brother

What else can I say about William J. Murray than what I wrote for his memorial service?  I loved him so much and will miss him terribly.  Our brother/sister love has just grown deeper over the years.

Well, you think you know someone…….I thought I knew my brother.

I knew he was a great son, uncle and brother, although it must have been difficult at times being sandwiched between two sisters.

I knew he trusted Jesus as his Savior as a child and loved God’s Word.

I knew he was politically conservative, to say the least, and opened my eyes to the political scene and was my resource for knowing who deserves my vote.

I knew he was an avid reader and was extremely knowledgeable about a multitude of subjects. He should have been on Jeopardy. He would have cleaned up.

He loved to hunt mushrooms and fried up a plate of morels that were out of this world. He loved to grow tomatoes, make the best pot of fresh green beans, and talk about our family history in Greene County. He taught himself to play the guitar and banjo. He wrote many beautiful poems. He loved our kids and both of our boys worked for him and learned carpentry from him.

But just when you think you know someone…… you hear stories about his character and integrity from those he worked for and with and who knew him in the community. I have heard over and over the phrase, “you could trust him.” I hear stories about his kindness and generosity from those who have been recipients of it, stories of his humor and funny antics…like when he painted big red flowers on the sides of Gary’s old blue pickup he got from his grandpa. We don’t know why… What can I say? He was 15 and it was the 70’s. Flower Power!  So there you go…. Then I hear his love story and how deeply his heart could love and commit to his best friend and fiancé, Donna Marie.

I feel like I know him so much better now, but I miss him so much more. He has left a void in our family that will only be filled when we get to kneel with him at the feet of King Jesus in worship forever.

Some of my favorite pictures:

I did not know that he wanted to be cremated, but he had told Donna on several occasions that was his wish.  He did not want to be displayed in a casket or be buried in the ground.  So that's what we did.  None of our family had ever been cremated before so this was kind of foreign to us. But, hey, it's just a shell, right?  These old bodies eventually turn to dust and ashes anyway.  And one of these days we will have new bodies in a glorious new Home!  

Thank you Jesus for seeing us through this grieving process.  Saying goodbye to B.J. hurts just as bad as the others of our family who have gone on, but thankfully, we have a Comforter who comes to us in our sorrow and brings sweet peace. And then we go on.......

.........never forgetting,

Sis