Jim Murray taught me how to curl starting when I was 7 and remained my coach throughout my junior curling career. Eventually, I started helping teach the junior curling program along side Jim at the Garrison curling club. As curling quickly became a big part of my life, Jim too became a big part of my life and my family’s life, spending countless hours at games, practices, and out-of-town bonspiels. For as long as he could (until they introduced a rule to stop him!), he would coach as many teams as possible so you’d have to look for him up and down the rink when calling a time-out to ask for his knowledge about the game situations we would found ourselves in. I don’t remember how many times I would have just sat down at a table to start some homework while my sister curled, when Jim would come by, ask if I had my curling equipment, and would have me out sparing on a team before I knew it. He  was always so eager to get everyone involved and was so gratuitous sharing his time and knowledge with countless curlers. 

One of my fondest memories of Jim is from when I was on a junior team. We were having a pretty good season, so Jim suggested we enter into a men’s bonspiel at the Garrison curling club. Jim had also entered a team of his own. We were all excited as this was the first time we were playing against men’s teams and it felt like a big step. We didn’t do too well the first few games and then we ended up playing Jim’s team. We were all excited because we finally had a good end setting up when it was Jim’s turn to throw. He made an across-the-house double and turned around to us and said “How do you like them apples boys?” We all burst out laughing! We talked about that shot for the rest of the season.

Jim taught me so much about curling but also about dedication, team work, and giving back to the community. Jim will be missed, but his impact on countless lives in the curling community and beyond remains as a lasting legacy.

I hold many fond memories of Jim Murray - as a work colleague and mentor during his career in geophysics at Gulf - as a golf buddy and long-time member of the Redwood Meadows Golf and Country Club - and as a curling coach and teacher, running the junior curling program at the Garrison Curling Club.

Jim was always generous with his time to share stories, help others, or to guide young curlers.

I will always remember Jim for his kind, patient and thoughtful demeanour. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Similar to many others who posted here Mr. Murray worked with my late father Ken Pritchard in the oil patch and his wife was also a fast friend of my late mother Jeanette. I have fond memories of a childhood visits to their Calgary home and it was wonderful to see Jean Ann at my own parents memorial service in Calgary just a few months ago after I have spent so many years living in Ontario. Heartfelt condolences from the Pritchard clan go out to the entire Murray family and I suspect Jim is enjoying throwing rocks again right now on a sheet in Heaven with the best pebbles anyone could ask for.

“Mr Murray”, as we called him, worked with my dad throughout their long careers at Gulf. I enjoyed the Murrays’ visits so much. Jim was always so kind and genuinely interested in what we were up to. His laughter is what I remember best. It came easy and was so infectious. My sincere condolences to his loved ones.

Submitted by Al Mills former classmate of Jim’s at Queen’s

I shared a room with Jim for three years at Queens. Two shared events stand out for me during that time.

The first involved a Thanksgiving dinner in 1957 at the Murray Homestead near Galt ON. Jim and his parents had invited several of Jim’s friends for a Thanksgiving celebration. They were all returning students to Queen’s and Kingston from Windsor, London and Toronto. It was a welcome stop for hungry students on their return to university.

The day dawned bright and clear. It was an unusually warm day with the scent of fall pervasive. The fall colours were at their peak. The bounty of the harvest was apparent everywhere including on the enormous dining table fully set in the huge open room of the Murray home.

As we approached the home, we could see it was an attractive block limestone construction typical of many older farmhouses in this part of Ontario. It had been constructed by Scottish stone masons some decades before. It sat like a picture on this glorious day. We were alive with excitement.

The Thanksgiving dinner could not have gone any better. It was clear that this was a special Thanksgiving, and we were impressed with the Murray hospitality and their generosity in takin some sixteen students.

And then, this ‘magic ‘weekend and Thanksgiving celebration was over, and it was back to Kingston and the grind.

The second event was a shared adventure that we could have well done without. This happened some eighteen months later another beautiful day in mid-March and just before final examinations. The weather at this time of year is quite variable and this year, there were a few freeze-thaws that removed the snow covering the ice on Kingston Bay leaving a perfectly smooth mirror-like surface perfect for skating. We couldn’t resist a final skate and set out midafternoon with Wolfe Island as our destination. The conditions couldn’t have been better with a comfortable le temperature and a gentle following breeze. We began to think quite grandiosely, that maybe our our destination should be Cape Vincent in New York state.

Reality set in when we could see the first signs of dusk began to appear and we were barely at the Island. We decided quite wisely to return to Kingston just as its lights began to flicker on the opposite shore.

About halfway to Kingston, we encountered a totally unexpected obstacle. Lying between us and shore was the roiling wake of the Wolfe Island ferry that had past minutes before. Ice blocks of various sizes bobbed and rolled like the surface in a witch’s caldron.

Jim sized up the situation, backed about fifty feet from the wake, picked out a target block and then, as if shot out of cannon, propelled himself to the target block. Then it was a dance picking out ‘stable’ blocks and moving to them right and left as quickly as he could while remaining upright. With a ‘whoop ‘of relief he announced he had crossed the wake. It was my turn next. I did it and there we stood without a ‘soaker’ between us.

We mused briefly about what could have happened and how we could explain our situation. In the end, the adventure provided a ‘reset’ for the forthcoming final examinations.

Jim has said that his days at Queen’s were the ‘best' a feeling shared by many. Despite the workload, long hours of study and the daunting mountain of information and knowledge that had to be absorbed and retained, there was an overarching camaraderie among and sense of purpose that kept us positive and in good spirts. Introspect it was an exhilarating and fun experience.

Jim was instrumental in the building of curling in southern Alberta. Jim’s contributions as a coach, and his volunteering for curling at the club level and the Southern AB Curling Association helped to make the sport successful. He will be remembered by all the curlers he helped to achieve their goals.

Condolences to Jim’s family. I had the priviledge of working with Jim, a fellow geophysicist, at Gulf Canada.

Jim was an enthusiastic organizer of our exploration funspiels, even helping as auctioneer in a Calcutta associated with the event.

In Gulf’s international ventures he was a steady contributor, with a reassuring amount of irreverence in play….regardless of the country, and it’s proper currency; Jim would refer to that currency as “ying-yangs”…..”hey, how many ying-yangs to drill our well there?”, or “how many ying-yangs should we have in cash?”.

Jim felt strongly that a company should honour its exploration drilling commitments in any country, and was really irritated when, after drilling a dry hole for the first well, a company would try to negotiate its remaining drilling obligations away. That wasn’t Jim!

He was a sage judge of human character, and was always considerate of others; and always with a twinkle in his eyes.

He was a consummate explorationist that will be missed.

Tooney Fink

My sincere condolences to Jim's family. I worked a few curling camps, learn to curl events and served with Jim on the Board of the Calgary Youth Curling Club. I was amazed at the time and effort that Jim put into teaching and coaching our new Junior curlers and teams. He had a quiet but effecient way of teaching young curlers. Always had a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. No matter what Calgary curling club I went into, it seemed Jim was there as well. He will be missed but never forgotten by many curlers.