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Murray Laver Obituary
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Murray graduated from Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph in 1955 with a degree in Chemistry. He attended The Ohio State University where he played ice hockey and graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1959.
On February 9, 1963 Murray married Mary Margaret Smolska in Cleveland, OH. They moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, then to Seattle, Washington where Murray worked for Weyerhaeuser and the University of Washington. In March of 1969 the family moved to Corvallis, Oregon and Murray became a member of the faculty of the School of Forestry at Oregon State University.
Murray was a Wood Science and Engineering Professor at Oregon State University for 31 years teaching and doing research. One of the highlights of his career was spending a year at Harvard University on sabbatical leave. He acted as major professor for numerous Ph.D. and Master of Science students. Murray retired from Oregon State in February 2000.
Murray played many sports, his favorites being golf and ballroom dance. He also enjoyed helping others, so he volunteered as an AARP Tax-Aide Counselor and Site Coordinator for many years.
Murray is survived by his two daughters: Ann Laver (Maria Mayorga) and Elizabeth Laver, as well as many nieces and nephews, and extended family members. He is preceded in death by his wife: Mary and his brothers and sister.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made as gifts in Murray's name to either the World Wildlife Fund (worldwildlife.org) or the American Cancer Society (cancer.org)
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
4 Entries
Professor Emeritus, Barry Goodell
May 27, 2025
Murray was a wonderful teacher, and he was also on my committee when I did my PhD at OSU in Corvallis. He was kind and really cared about his students, so I was saddened to see this announcement of his passing. In the wood science field a lot of practical, applied research was being conducted back when I did my PhD, and Murray was one of the few that had interest in basic science and the chemistry of natural materials. So it was quite refreshing and valuable to get his take on the scientific aspects of the chemistry and biochemistry that I was doing. In my PhD defense, Murray came to my aid when I got asked a particularly challenging question by one of my fellow PhD students about whether the analysis method I was using (for Mass Spectrometry) was truly valid. After bumbling around a bit with my response saying something like this seemed to be the way it was being done in the literature that I had read, Murray "saved" me with a more authoritative response, saying, "Yes, this was exactly how it was supposed to be done!" So, I mopped my brow and have thanked Murray ever after for that, and for all the other gentle ways he helped students learn and grow.
Bruce Martin
January 12, 2025
I met Murray when we both volunteered as TaxAides at the Corvallis library. He was fun and easy going and we had many discussions in between clients. He told me how he missed dancing since his diabetes progressed and made that untenable for him. I visited him at Stoneybrook last year. It must have been just before he passed. What a lovely man.
Bob Yandt
December 31, 2024
Murray was a great friend and dancer and a long time Monads dance club member. We will miss him dearly. Bob & Juliette
Marilyn Koenitzer
November 3, 2024
I new Murray because we lived in the same neighborhood. He was always friendly and smiling, willing to help with city issues. His daughters are the age of mine, so we knew them too. My heart goes out to you two women in this time of your loss. Marilyn Koenitzer
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815 NW Buchanan Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97330
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