Obituary of Donald James Murray

On Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 at 10:43pm, an amazing man left us for the ultimate Montreal Canadiens hockey game in the sky. Donald James Murray passed away peacefully at the St. Catharines General Hospital.

Don was born to parents James Ignatius Murray and Adeline Beatrice Hudgins of Belleville, Ontario on July 5th, 1935. Don, an only child, came into this world as a cute baby boy with blue eyes and blonde hair. In his childhood, Don rode the trains with his Dad, who was an engineer and helped his Mom, who was a chef and owned her own restaurant. Don eventually met the love of his life, Vera Enid Jeffrey, at an office in Hamilton where he delivered food from his catering business to various offices. It was love at first sight and soon afterwards, they married. From that marriage came his three children, Mark Donald Murray, Jeffrey Allan Murray and Susan Annette Murray.

In February of 2006, Don sadly lost the love of his life, Vera, and after many years apart they were finally reunited. Don was a loving husband to Vera, father to Mark, Jeff and Susan, a loving father-in-law to Jackie and Dave, and a loving grandfather to his grandchildren, Tara (Spencer), April (James), Nikki (David) and Katey (Wes). He was also a wonderful great-grandfather to Emily and Luna.

To Don, nothing was as important as his family. He looked forward to being at any and all family gatherings. He truly lit up a room with his warmth and sense of humour. His children have many treasured family memories like the trips with the travel trailer across Canada and throughout the US, pond hockey and tobogganing to name a few. These treasured memories will help with the loss felt and we are thankful for that. Don was a terrific friend to many people over the years of his long life. He'd help anyone; family or friend when he could. He was loved by all.

A special thanks to our brother Mark, who dedicated himself to looking after Dad and being his caregiver. We are eternally grateful to you and we know dad is too. To Dad, we love you so much and we are so blessed to have had such an amazing patriarch raise us, provide for us, and above all, love us. Give Mom a big hug from us.

Donald James Murray, Dad, Grandpa, Papa, friend, the man that was so many things to so many people, rest easy and know you are loved. In accordance with Don’s wishes, cremation has taken place. Memorial details to follow at a later date, and will be announced on Don’s tribute page found at EssentialsNiagara.com.