SHAVERTOWN — Frederick Fuller Murray, 87, of Shavertown, passed away on Sunday, May 14, 2017.
Fred, the son of Esther (Cease) Murray and Joseph Kingsbury Murray, was born on Aug. 23, 1929. He was preceded by his wife, Kathleen (Eubank) Murray.
Born in Jackson Township, Fred was an avid hunter at an early age. At 9 years old, he shot two muskrats, rode his bicycle to Nanticoke, sold the pelts and bought a shirt, pants and shoes. He joined DeMolay International at 16 , became a Shriner at 23 and joined the Irem Temple Country Club. He worked for Senator T. Newell Wood’s horse farm as a teenager. At 18, he joined the U.S. Air Force to repair aircraft engines. Fred later became a flight engineer working for Capital Airlines and Pan American. In 1960, he went to work for American Airlines in New York where he flew 727s, 707s, DC10s, etc., and later 747s on international routes, until retiring in 1994. His name is on a plaque in the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum.
Fred loved history; read many books on politics, World War II and the like.
Fred was an avid fisherman and hunter his whole life, fishing oceans and streams alike. He enjoyed bagging his trophy moose, elk as well as deer and other wild game. He fished for swordfish, salmon and hundreds of striped bass and blue. Much of his fishing time was spent at Moriches Inlet on Long Island and Nantucket Island, Mass. Fred was also an avid trap shooter for more than 40 years, shooting more than 455,000 clay birds with great success and winning many trophies. He is mentioned in trap magazines and books.
He lived on his grandparents’ farm where he was born and where a barn was erected in 1888, which Fred entered into the Luzerne County Historical Society.
He was also preceded by his siblings, Elda Lomax, of Lexington, N.C., Naomi Bartolacci, of Atlanta, Ga., and Leland Murray, of Shavertown.
He is survived by his daughters, Stacy Murray, of Shavertown, and Lisa Murray, of Dallas; son, Nick Murray and his wife, Maria, of Fort Worth, Texas; grandchildren, Chris Murray and his wife, Rachel, of Houston, Texas; Stephanie (Murray) Murphy and her husband, Jon; and one great-grandson, Connor Murphy.
A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 19, 2017, at Leggio’s Restaurant in Dallas.
The family requests that flowers be omitted; donations can be made to one of their favorite charities in Fred’s memory.