Murray Purcell

Murray Purcell, retired executive director of the NSGA, passes after a lengthy battle with cancer. Born in Halifax on January 4, 1940 he passed in Falmouth on December 4, 2006.

Murray was a man of few words. His gift was not in speaking, it was in doing. By deed and action he not only performed his duties as husband and father with tenacity and quiet grace, he enriched every community in which he was involved. Simply, he was a man who made things happen.

“When Murray thought something was important,” Karen McDonald, fellow board member at the Avon Valley Country Club said, “he made it happen. No matter how long or hard he had to work at it.” Murray’s work ethic and professionalism were a source of inspiration to those who knew him and all of his adult life he was the “go to guy”; for his friends, his family and his co-workers.

Born in Halifax in 1940 to Catherine (nee Forbes) and Elwood Purcell, Murray, whose given name is Murray Elwood David, was educated at the Halifax Vocational School where he graduated at the top of his class with a degree in mechanical drafting which he put to use in his first professional job as a draftsman for the Halifax engineering firm of F.C. O’Neill & Associates which later merged with D.J. Morris. Married to Lorraine Corbin of Spryfield since 1960, he was father to Cheryl Ann (Cudmore), born in 1961, Catherine Mary (Jamieson), born in 1962 and Timothy David, born in 1966.

“I never once saw him lose his temper,” Tony Pajaczkowski, a long time friend and business associate said. “You could always count on Murray to keep his head about him, no matter what.” “Dad always did the right thing,” said son Timothy Purcell. It was this quality earned Murray the deep affection and abiding respect of those who knew him and was the foundation upon which his community activity was based.

An avid supporter of all minor and community sports he was heavily involved with the Boy Scouts of Canada, coached minor league baseball, refereed minor and junior league hockey and was known to lace up his own skates and take his preferred position of left wing, most recently with the Anteeks team in Windsor, Nova Scotia. From helping to build rinks in his capacity as President of the Spryfield Lions Club to working with junior golf players in his capacity as the Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Golf Association and President of the Avon Valley Country Club Murray believed in the values of sportsmanship, honorable conduct and community involvement. In recognition of his many years of service to the club and the community, Avon Valley Golf Club made Murray an honorary member of the club in 2006. A level 4 golf referee, Murray was a familiar sight on many of the province’s courses and had a special interest in working with juniors.

Murray was predeceased by parents Catherine and Elwood Purcell, brother Cyril and sister Geraldine. He is survived by brother Robert (Tim) and sisters Kathleen (Leenie), Barbara and Joan, all of Hants County.

Beloved by his children and grandchildren, Alexander Korbutiak and Danielle Jamieson of Winnipeg and Candice Sanford and Emily and Jessica Purcell of Mt Denson, Murray was the sort of grandfather who instilled a sense of confidence and family pride in his grandchildren. “He was the rock underneath us all,” said granddaughter Danielle.

Because his life was well lived, Murray Purcell will be well remembered. Because of what he was, all of us who remain behind him go forward with deep pride in who we are. He will not be forgotten.

When my father was ill and was helping me get ready to build a new house he made me a list of all the things I would need to do. Questions I would need to ask and details I would need to know.

When I came home this last time, one of the first things he wanted to do was to go over that list. And we did. In minute, exacting detail. (He even made me highlight some especially important things in pink!)

I told him that I was a little nervous, that I didn’t know a thing about building a house, that I was sure to mess up something important. And he told me that I would be fine … if I just worked from my list.

And because my father took his responsibilities very seriously, he then proceeded to give me another list of things that I should do on his behalf … people I should talk to … Christmas gifts I should buy … things I should make sure were done for my mother.

Towards the end, when he could tell I was nervous and anxious, he looked over at me and said “just work from your list, Cathy”. In fact, these were his last words to me.

I’ve decided this is the best advice I have ever gotten. It’s even become a bit of a private joke between my mother and brother and myself: when this week would threaten to overwhelm us all we would look at each other and say “we just need to work from the list”.

There is an expression that goes something like “Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime” and in many ways like I just described, Murray Purcell was all about teaching people to fish.

I think he would smile to know that we spent this week making lists and working from them.

And I’ve learned other very important things from my father. Not just because he told me they were true, but because he lived them. Amongst those many things are these simple ones:

- You take care of your family
- You keep your promises
- You do your duty
- You work hard
- You treat people fairly
- You contribute to your community

I don’t know everything about my father, and if I did I wouldn’t have time to tell it here, but I will tell some things that I do know and that I would like to share with you:

I know that when my father was young he was hard to get up for school (which I wish I’d known when *I* was a kid), that he worked on the trains in the kitchen car, that he used to sneak into the Halifax Forum to watch hockey games and that he never could pass a hotdog stand without buying one.

I know that he fell in love with my mother when he met her and never once stopped, that he used to bring home toys and candies in his suit jacket pockets for his daughters and that he taught his son how to skate.

I know that he loved and valued his sisters and brothers, that all animals loved him … and that he once hit a hole in one at the golf course in Claire. I know that he was very smart and very resourceful and very, very good at every job he ever did.

I know that every one of his children respected and admired him, that his grandchildren all loved him and that his wife counted herself blessed. I know that he was proud to be a Purcell, a Torie and a Chicago Black Hawks fan.

There is a story I have told all my children and all my nieces … (and likely anyone else who would listen) … it makes me smile every time I remember it: my father once climbed up on the roof of our house on a snowy Christmas Eve and made footprints to the chimney so his three small children would think Santa Claus had come.

There are those here today, and I can see some of you, who might call my father a curmudgeon or even a grouch – and those who would say he was always sociable and friendly and even charismatic. Others might recall his dry sense of humor … or his quick wit or perhaps remember one of his wry one liners.

Some of you will recall his ability to remember phone numbers for years … correctly … and others will know that he knew just about every hockey rule there was … off the top of his head. … Though I hesitate to say this in a Catholic church, I have even heard him referred to as the “Pope” in regards to the rules of golf.

Murray Purcell lived an interesting and successful life – he went after things he wanted and never stopped until he had them. He went places and met people and did the things he wanted to do. People counted on him … and he came through.

My brother and I talked a lot about my Dad in these past few months – we shed a lot of tears and shared a lot of laughs. … And we told a looooot of stories. And neither of us was surprised to discover that we had no baggage with our father, we had no grudges or issues. He always dealt with us fairly and decently, as he dealt with everyone.

No, I can’t tell you everything about my father – because I don’t know everything. But maybe between all of us here, we do know everything there is to know about Murray Purcell. … And although we will all remember him a little differently – our memories will be a little similar too … because the really important things about him never changed.

Murray always, as my mother says, did the right thing. That is his true eulogy.

In closing I would like to read from a song that my father loved…

From the chorus of “The Old Man” by John McDermott:

I never will forget him
For he made me "what I am"
Though he may be gone
Memories linger on
And I miss him, the old man