William Franklin Murray, passed away on Saturday, November 21, 2020, at the age of 100. Frank was born in Bremen, Georgia on November 13, 1920, the eldest son of Buford J. Murray and Mary Widener Murray. Frank was predeceased by his wife, Marie Crumly Murray, his parents, as well as by his younger sister, Ruth, and his younger brother, James. The family moved to Birmingham in the early 1920s. He was an Eagle Scout. Frank attended Birmingham public schools, graduating from Woodlawn High School in 1939. There he met his future wife, Marie. They were married for 65 years until her death in 2007. Frank pursued a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology until the outbreak of World War II. He served in the United States Army through the entirety of the conflict, honorably discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant. He then returned to Georgia Tech, graduating in 1947. He was elected to Pi Tau Sigma, Mechanical Engineering Honorary.
Frank and Marie returned to Birmingham, where Frank was employed by the Ingalls Iron Works Company and successor steel fabrication firms, retiring as Vice President – Structural Steel, Trinity Industries. Frank and Marie were members of Woodlawn United Methodist Church where for many years he enjoyed serving in various ministries. He is survived by sons William Franklin Murray, Jr., Birmingham, and Michael Lee Murray (Ginny), Huntsville, and a daughter, Susan Murray Vincent (Bryan), Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Frank also leaves six grandchildren, Lanier Brooks, Enterprise, Elizabeth Collins, Nashville, Tennessee, Justin Murray (Andie), Atlanta, Georgia, Jared Murray (Lacey), Birmingham, Philip Vincent, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Andrew Vincent, Boston, Massachusetts. Frank is also survived by four great grandchildren, Elizabeth Brooks and Virginia Brooks, Enterprise, Alexander Collins, Nashville, Tennessee, and Bradlee Bea Murray, Atlanta Georgia. As one of his granddaughters at an early age wrote of Frank: “He is precious to us”, and he always will remain so. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery, with family only in attendance.
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