Richard Armstrong Murray

1948 - 2024

Richard Armstrong Murray

1948 ~ 2024

Lifelong Utah artist Richard Murray died on May 14, 2024, at his home in Richland, Oregon.

Richard was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 13, 1948, to Norman C. and Kathryn Murray. He is survived by two younger sisters, Mary and Kathryn (Tass). He grew up in Salt Lake City's Avenues neighborhood and attended Wasatch Elementary, Bryant Jr. High, and East High School. At the University of Utah he studied art under famed portrait artist Alvin Gittens.

Richard's artistic talent was evident at a young age and he was fortunate to have a lifetime living his love and passion as an artist. Early in his career, his paintings were inspired by the landscapes of Utah and his travels in India, Egypt, Africa, Mexico, and the British Isles. He found a special niche in his life-size depictions of animals, including birds, which had been a lifelong passion. His success as an artist brought him tremendous satisfaction.

In 2002 he fulfilled his dream when he built a home in Richland, Oregon, where he was able to settle into a quiet rural existence observing the wildlife that completed his world and surrounding himself with the books and music he loved. He had a close cadre of friends and organized many adventures with them, including river trips on the Colorado and Green rivers with Holiday River Expeditions.

Of special note and appreciation has been Richard's lifetime association and treasured friendship with Dennis and Polly Potts and their children, Samantha and Jamie.

Known for his sharp wit and extensive and varied knowledge, Richard didn't own a cell phone, wasn't on the Internet, and didn't have network TV. He watched videos and read extensively. Many considered him old-fashioned, but there was a purity about his approach to information.

This poem by his friend, Linda Joy Cordtz, in Richland, Oregon, sums it up beautifully:

The horses knew first and told the snake

That our good friend Richard had passed.

Swans heard it from the iris,

That bore it on the breeze, telling the meerkats.

And soon they gathered under the starry sky,

Monkeys, turkeys, elk, owls, deer and skunks.

The ostriches, helped him stand and he walked freely among them, holding a hare to his chest.

Chickens and peacocks, guinea hens, cougars and bison.

The eagles brought the wrens, the owls nestled

On the musk ox back, as they celebrated him.

The leaves whispered and the flowers bloomed,

And still they came.

The milk cow, a wood duck, a lynx with a coyote,

A grand moose, with cranes, followed by the raccoons.

The mountain goat, the fox, a black bear and the wolf.

All the dogs barked and ran, as the bighorn sheep

Circled back to see him looking out at the pond.

But the Raven called, and still they all came, to walk him Home.

Thank you all for sharing the journey with him.