Charles McMurray

1925 - 2015

Charles McMurray

Webster City

Charles Leslie McMurray was born in the family home at 620 Webster Street in Webster City, Iowa, in June of 1925. He was the fourth child in the family of Murray and Margaret Miller McMurray, to be joined the following year by the fifth, Mary. His growing up was normal for a small Iowa town. Two broken arms, the second one severe, by the time he was ten, reflected an active childhood. That break took him to the Mayo Clinic in 1935, which then consisted of only one building!

Class president his senior year in 1942-43, he was also active in a variety of athletics. His football team defeated Iowa Falls for the conference championship in November of 1942. With only one day's rest they played a very good Fort Dodge team to help with bond sales for World War II. Much to the amazement of the Dodger fans, Webster City triumphed with a 14 to 6 win. He always considered that the highlight of his athletic career even though his basketball team was the second best in the state, losing the championship game in Des Moines to Mason City.

Charles graduated from high school in 1943 when he was 17 and immediately enlisted in the Army. Although he volunteered for overseas duty, in the following 33 months he was never sent outside the country.

Discharged from the Army in the spring of 1946, he was allowed to enroll at Grinnell College for some courses that fit a shortened time frame. That was one of the luckiest things that ever happened to him. He met Anne Royal of Des Moines, a friend of his sister, who was also in her second year there. Within a month he knew this was the girl he wanted to marry. He did, two years later. In the summer of 1948, after Anne graduated, they married in Des Moines. She worked at Grinnell as the secretary to the Dean of Men while Charles finished his last year, graduating in 1949.

That summer they returned to Webster City to make their home as Charles joined his father and brother, John, in the McMurray Hatchery business. Within a few years Murray McMurray withdrew and died shortly after. For the next 40 years John and Charles continued in the business together. In the 1980's John's son Murray and Mike Lubbers joined the firm, taking ownership of it in 1990. In 20 years they made it the largest Rare Breed Hatchery in the world.

Anne and Charles first lived in an apartment in the early 1950's but with a larger family they soon built their own home at 512 Pleasant Street in Webster City in which they still live. Eventually five children brightened their lives and the home has served them well. As the family grew, foreign travel came to interest them more and more. It was slowed for a time as they survived a plane crash in New Zealand, but never stopped.

Golf was also a lifelong pleasure --- he had four holes in one during his playing days.

Charles was elected to the Kendall Young Library Board at an early age and served as a trustee for 30 years. As the financial officer for the addition to the building in the 1990's, he raised the final million dollars for it's completion. The Congregational Church was a family interest from 1876 on. Besides the usual church duties Charles was chairman of the Webster City Centennial and assisted with many historical additions to the Quasquicentennial. He served on the Webster City School Board in the 1970's. The Webster City Rotary Club also offered international service by way of its Group Study Exchange Program. In 1994, Charles competed for the leadership of this group, won the position, and spent a month in south India with a team of four others. It was a once in a lifetime exposure to a distant yet captivating life style.

Anne and Charles celebrated their sixty-sixth wedding anniversary in July of 2014. Their five children are: Douglas ( Dianne ) McMurray of St. Paul, MN; David (Joan) McMurray of Corvallis, OR; Margaret ( Denise ) McMurray of Madison, WI; Scott (Stephanie) McMurray of Spring Lake, NJ and Beth McMurray of St. Thomas, USVI They have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Contributions in his memory would be welcomed at the Kendall Young Library or First Congregational - U.C.C.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 18, at the First Congregational- U.C.C. in Webster City, with Rev. Craig Blaufuss officiating. Visitation will be at the Foster Funeral and Cremation Center from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17.

Write a personal tribute for the McMurray family at www.fosterfuneralandcremation.com.