Donald "Don" D. Murray

Born December 1, 1934 in Pekin to Harold and Mildred (Gearian) Murray, he married Rita Hatfield on April 19, 1997 in Pekin.

Surviving are his wife of 27 years; five daughters, Deb Brown, Rose McKay, Sandy Kline, all of Pekin, Monica (Mike) Walker of East Peoria and Amy Schaeffer of Washington; three sons, Charles McKay, Kevin (Star) Murray, both of Pekin and Kendall Chandler of Minneapolis, Minnesota; 19 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his father; mother and step-father, Ernest Carpenter; one daughter, Kristine Cilella; two grandchildren, Bo Brock and Tyler Murray and one sister, Kay Gess.

Don was a veteran of the United States Army.

He had worked in retail, mainly grocery for 35 years at Mr. K’s in Pekin. He then worked at Walmart in the sporting goods department for 20 years before retiring in 2017.

An avid pool player, Don was a member of the local A.P.A and played in two different leagues. He was also a fan and collector of NASCAR and the St. Louis Cardinals. He enjoyed fishing and tinkering in his garage.

His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Ed Autrey will officiate. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at the funeral home.

Military rites will be provided by the United States Army and Tazewell Military Rites Team. Burial will be at Glendale Memorial Gardens in Pekin.

Memorial contributions may be given to Tazewell Animal Protective Society, 100 Taps Lane, Pekin, Illinois 61554.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com