Jerry Groff Murray Jr.

Jerry Murray was a talented machinist, music enthusiast, and lover of cars. He lived in Puyallup, Washington, and spent most of his free time catching new action movies at the cinema, mowing his lawn, planting roses, and kicking his mother's butt at the game of dice. His mother, Leanna Whitfeldt, lives in Tacoma. Jerry was her oldest child, followed by three siblings: Mike, Mary, and Tim. Even at a young age, Jerry was fond of music and movies. He was also a hard worker all his life; Leanna remembers him keeping a job early on to save up for his first ten-speed bike. He took pride in and cared for what he owned.

Jerry has three daughters from his second marriage to Kim Kusick: Amy, Alisa, and Abby. Amy lives in Puyallup with her three-year-old daughter Zoey and works as an endoscopic nurse. One of Amy's favorite memories of her father is from her college years, when she would deliberately tell her dad she was taking her car through an automated car wash just to see him slap his forehead and sigh a dramatic sigh. (He would then wash the car as if it were a newborn babe.) Alisa, a hospice nurse, also lives in Puyallup with her husband, JD, and two children, Finley and Avelyn. Alisa remembers bringing her father any crafts or drawings or paintings she made while growing up, and says he always asked her questions about them and admired them; he made them feel like art. Abby, the youngest, lives in Colorado Springs (her husband, Tom, is currently deployed to Iraq) and teaches creative writing at the community college. She remembers her dad making up monologues for any animals they saw; all pets had voices and Jerry would narrate their escapades for her while she watched.

Jerry will be remembered at a funeral service at All Saints Catholic Church on Wednesday, November 24, at 1:00pm. Friends are welcome to attend and remember Jerry Murray's presence as a father, son, brother, grandfather, co-worker, and friend.