Richard Muir

1927 - 2010

Richard W. Muir (Dick) died at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. on November 23, 2010 at the age of 83. Although successful in the investments business, he will be remembered principally for his devotion to family, an extraordinary number of long-term friendships, and his passionate advocacy for protecting Utah's wild lands. He was born in Bountiful, Utah on June 14, 1927 to Edward Oliver and Mary Whitesides Muir. The family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where Richard was Student Body President of Roosevelt Junior High School, and later the Senior Class President of East High School. Richard enlisted in the U.S. Navy, but at the end of World War II decided to forego his appointment to the United States Naval Academy to enter the University of Utah where he was elected Freshman Class President and joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He later served as a student body officer, graduated with a B.A. degree in Banking and Finance, and then continued his education at the Harvard Business School, receiving his M.B.A. degree in 1951. Richard began work as a stockbroker in Salt Lake City and soon co-founded Muir, Dumke and Light, an investment firm whose founders in 1956 became the youngest managing partners of an investment firm ever to be admitted to membership in the New York Stock Exchange. The firm later merged with a larger San Francisco-based firm, Schwabacher & Company, where Richard became Managing Partner in 1968. In 1973, the family moved to Encino, Calif. where Richard worked with his cousin, Robert Muir, developing office buildings and shopping centers. In 1976, he joined Summa Corporation in Las Vegas as executive consultant and later Director of Planning for the Recreation Group. In 1985 he became president of both the Growers Market Company (later GMX Corp.) and E. O. Muir Associates of Salt Lake City, both of which prospered and were later sold in their entirety. A lifelong member of the LDS Church, Richard also contributed to the community as a member of the Alta Club, president of the Harvard Business School Club of Utah, the Utah Security Dealers Association, and a board member of the Salt Lake Stock Exchange. He served as president of United Cerebral Palsy of Utah and on the boards of the Swaner Nature Preserve and Utahns Against Gun Violence. An eloquent environmentalist, he frequently wrote witty letters to newspapers decrying the destruction of Utah's matchless wild beauty for the benefit of private interests. Richard is survived by his wife, Ellen Frances Parmley Muir; and their six children, Vickie Muir Eastman (Alan), Salt Lake City, Janet Elizabeth Muir (David Suehsdorf), New York City, N.Y., John Richard Muir (Jean) Lafayette, Calif., Mark Parmley Muir (Marianne Doran, deceased), Venice, Calif., Bruce Robert Muir (Daun) Valencia, and Melanie Muir Bell (Nathan), Moraga, Calif.; and a sister, Jean Muir Resch (Jim) of Salt Lake City; eighteen adored grandchildren and seven adorable great-grandchildren. At Richard's request, the graveside service will be private, however a memorial service will be held in Salt Lake City at a later time.
"Goodnight, sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
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