Dr. John J. Murray Jr.

John Joseph Murray, Jr. M.D. of Andover, formerly of Chelmsford and Norwich, VT, died Saturday, July 18 at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington. Born in Stoneham on March 9, 1951 he was the son of the late John Joseph and Mary E. (Sheldon) Murray. John was born and raised in Stoneham and was a graduate of Stoneham High School, Class of 1969. He spent his undergraduate years at Dartmouth College and then went on to Boston University for medical school. His residency and fellowship years were spent throughout many Massachusetts area hospitals before ultimately making his career as a colorectal surgeon. His career was primarily spent at Lahey Medical Center in Burlington, where he was for 23 years, and then his last ten years were spent at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Outside of his vocational pursuits, John loved golfing, gardening, walking, and reading. He was also pursuing a hobby of oil painting. John was immensely fond of the ocean, he much enjoyed time spent at his home on Martha's Vineyard. He was the beloved husband of Robin L. (Dutton) Murray, whom he met in 2003 and soon married. The two brought their families together, spending their early years in Chelmsford, followed by ten years in Norwich, VT, before finally making their home Andover in 2018. In addition to his loving wife, John leaves his children: John Patrick Murray & his wife Brittney Brouse, Leslie Murray & her husband Dennis Vestwebber, Theodore Crane, Katharine Lai & her husband Steve, and Amy Heath & her husband Andrew; his cherished grandchildren, Abigail, Elisabeth, and Maia; his adoring sisters, Joan Watkins of Wakefield and MaryLou Doyle & her husband Chris Rivest of Stoneham; his brother-in-law John Dutton & his wife Merril of PA; his nephew, Matthew Doyle and his niece, Laura Phinney. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Joseph Church, 173 Albion St., Wakefield on Thursday at 10am. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, please honor John with a donation to Victoria's Victory Foundation: www.victoriasvictory.org/donate or to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, 300 First Ave, Charlestown, MA 02129. Arrangements in the care of the McDonald Funeral Home, Wakefield.