EVERYBODY CALLED HIM MURRAY All his life he loved sports. In 1958 he started officiating high school and college sporting events and eventually found his mission in youth athletics as a coach and mentor for Little League sports. His career took him to coach, in particular, baseball and basketball for both girls and boys teams. He was so beloved by them that they built Irvin Gerald Murray Field as a practice facility for Little Leaguers. On May 18, 1979 he was honored during a City All Star Basketball Game in Yukon for 21 years of faithful service to the youth of our state and retired from officiating and coaching but was always ready to watch any game, anywhere until his death. Murray was a U.S. Navy veteran and was decorated for his wartime service aboard the USS Belleau Wood which was active in the Pacific theater during WWII. Perhaps shaped by that experience, Murray had both a wonderful sense of fun and a commitment to service throughout his life. After leaving the US Navy, he went to work for Western Electric/AT&T in Oklahoma City for 28 years. He and Betty were members of the Church of the Servant where Murray served in various capacities as an usher and greeter for two decades. Irvin Gerald Murray was the youngest of 11 children born to Orville and Clara Davis Murray on February 12, 1923 in Oakwood, Oklahoma, a place on Oklahoma's western prairie that was lost to the dustbowl and is long forgotten. He received "perfect " attendance certificates from the 1st to the 12th grade, not absent or tardy, even though he rode a horse three miles to the school. Murray had three children, Joy, Leland and Richard and through a blended family, he had three more sons, Phil, Terry and Tom. In addition to cherished nieces and nephews Murray left a rich legacy of grandchildren and great grandchildren. He really loved them all and they, in turn, loved him. He will be missed by everyone but especially by his wife, Betty Dixon Gibson Murray who loved him dearly. They had a special marriage with much happiness and family times and travel but love first and always for one another and the Lord. Murray is also survived by the many young men and women he coached. Some became distinguished as Judges or doctors, entertainers and politicians and all carry, as adults, the values of sportsmanship he instilled in them as a coach. Now adults with children and grandchildren of their own, they still called him Coach Murray whenever they saw him. It was almost impossible to go anywhere with Murray without a former player or parent to shout "Murray" and approach with a hearty handshake or a hug. After this happened he would always explain they used to "play ball for me". After such encounters in Asia and Europe, friends started to joke that when Murray approached the Pearly Gates Saint Peter would hug him and ask if he remembered when he "played ball" for him in Yukon. He probably did. A celebration to remember Murray's life will be held at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at The First United Methodist Church of the Servant, 14343 N. MacArthur Blvd., with burial to follow at 2:30 P.M. at Maple Grove Cemetery, 1000 W. Strother Ave. Seminole, OK.