Mr. John Edward McMurray

A memorial service for John Edward “Ed� McMurray, 87, will be held 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 8, 2011, in the New Life Chapel at the Heritage at Lowman in White Rock. Family will greet friends following the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, is assisting the family. Mr. McMurray died Sunday, April 3, 2011. Born in Waxhaw, N.C., he was a son of the late Landry Huey and Pearl Crenshaw McMurray. A native of Waxhaw, he moved to Rock Hill at an early age and attended public schools there. Following graduation from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He served from 1941 to1946 as a B-17 pilot, assigned to the 463rd Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force stationed in Foggia, Italy. After his military service, he attended the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1951 he opened the Columbia office of Johnson Service Company (now Johnson Controls). In 1963 he joined Guimarin and Doan, Inc., where he later became president and worked until he retired. During his career, he served as Secretary, Vice-President and President of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, and Secretary-Treasurer of the S.C. Society of Professional Engineers. He was a founding member of the Ye Olde Codgers of Columbia, a social organization for meeting, eating, and reminiscing. In addition to his career in engineering, Ed was a pioneer in early personal computing in Columbia, which became both a hobby and a passion in his later years. His other interests included hunting, fishing, and boating at his summer cottage on Lake Murray. He lived most of his life in Columbia before moving to the Heritage at Lowman in 2002. Prior to that, he was an active member of St. Martin’s-In-The-Fields Episcopal Church in Columbia. Surviving are his wife, Janet Sauls McMurray; sons, John E. McMurray, Jr. (Kathy) of Burkburnett, Texas, Thomas D. McMurray (Donna) of Chapin; brother, Eugene McMurray (Dot) of Fayetteville, N.C.; four grandchildren: Ed McMurray (Kathleen) of Lubbock, Texas, Lindsey McMurray Zyrski (Chris) of Naples, Italy, Connor McMurray (Kari) of Norfolk, Virginia, and Haley McMurray of Washington, DC, and five great-grandchildren. The family wishes to thank the staff of the Heritage at Lowman for their love and special care, particularly the staffs of Bethany and the Damascus unit where he resided. Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Foundation, S.C. Chapter, 3223 Sunset Blvd., Suite 100, West Columbia, SC 29169 or the Salvation Army-Wood Yard Fund, P.O. Drawer 2786, Columbia, SC 29202.