William Murry

William John Murry, “Bill”, 73 was born to Duane Francis Murry and Lillian Sophie Murry (nee Mattson), in Billings, Montana on August 15, 1950. He joined his brother Dennis. Soon his sister Peggy was born, followed by his brother Kenneth; four siblings in four and a half years! While his mother was pregnant with Bill, she carried shingles up a ladder to help roof the house their dad and Grandpa were building on Old Hardin Road in Lockwood.

Bill graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1968. He attended Eastern Montana College (now MSUB) and joined the Air Force for a period of time.

During his high school years, he started working with Lyle Borgen framing houses. This led to a twenty-year career of building houses, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings. Bill was always generous with his skills, helping neighbors on the weekends, building decks, garages and the like.

When he was forty years old, he spent a summer in Alaska, with his brother-in-law Rick, working on the docks for the fishing boats. He earned enough money to complete a two-year course in one year in Computer-aided Design at Montana Tech in Butte. He commuted between Helena and Butte on a daily basis, rain, snow, or shine. This led to his second career as a Field Engineer for Hydrometrics, Inc. for nineteen years.

Bill married Deborah (Devy) Atkinson on June 16, 1973, in Great Falls. In October of 1973, Bill and Devy moved from Billings to Helena. They had their two daughters Juli-Ann in 1977 and Tiffany in 1983 in Helena. The girls were immersed in Girl Scouts. He helped Juli build a bridge at Camp Thunderbird for her final project to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. Bill especially enjoyed fishing and hunting with his friends. He fondly remembered cutting firewood and Christmas trees with the family, including picnic lunches and warming up in the truck. They rafted the Missouri and the Blackfoot Rivers and spent time canoeing.

In the late 1990's, Bill began travelling out-of-town to oversee jobs in Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois. He left on Sunday and returned on Friday. He enjoyed the airport in Salt Lake where he would join the other Helena out-of-town workers returning home.

When Bill was transferred to Billings in October 2001, his family stayed in Helena except for Juli who had moved to Washington State to work. He was subsequently divorced. Thus began the second chapter of his life.

In April of 2004, Bill and Margie were introduced by a mutual friend at the ExxonMobil refinery where he worked as an environmental contractor, and she worked as a warehouseman. They learned on their first date, at a picnic in Pioneer Park (because he wanted her Jack Russell Terrier, Libby, to come to dinner) that they had both graduated in 1968 from high school, she in Helena and he in Billings. Then in 1973 they moved to the other ones hometown and worked for 28 years. They each grew up in a family with three brothers and a sister. There were even names in common like his sister Peggy and her mother Peggy. It all seemed to be a part of a bigger plan for their lives. They married in Red Lodge on July 1, 2006, and lived in the house he was in the process of buying when they met. They retired from their respective jobs in September of 2009 and in May of 2010, moved into the house she owned.

Bill made the decision this year that they would spend the money to upgrade the house. They started by replacing the deck the last week of February and first week of March. Bill was so pleased with the new deck that he spent nearly every nice day on the deck at some point. He loved the trees and the birds (and Pepper, the dog who came after Libby). He said that it was like camping, only better…you had your own bed!

They were living their happily ever after until August 12, 2024, three days shy of his 74th birthday. Margie took Bill to the Billings Clinic ER at just after four in the morning. He walked into the ER, went into cardiac arrest, and didn't walk out.

How can I describe Bill? He was a big man with a big voice and a big laugh. He loved to tease, to hug, to take long drives, to read cowboy stories in bed to “clear his mind” before sleeping, to plan meals and cook delicious food. He was kind, caring, hardworking, forgiving, and loving. He was a one-of-a-kind special guy!

Bill is preceded in death by his parents Duane and Lillian, aunts and uncles: Mae Murry Quaccia (John), Mary Ellen Murry Fages (Marcel); cousins Timothy Fages, August “Sonny” Mattson, Betty Mattson, as well as many friends and coworkers.

Bill is survived by his wife Margaret Oakland Murry (nee Mitchke), his brother Dennis Murry (Glenna) of Cincinnati, OH; his sister Peggy Bertram (Rick) of Park City, MT; his brother Kenneth Murry (Debra) of Bakersfield, CA; his daughter Juli-Ann Moe, grandson Gavin W. Moe of Lynnwood, WA; his daughter Tiffany Lane, grandson Tyler Lane, granddaughter Katelynn Lane of Austin, TX; his stepson Storr Oakland (Amy), grandsons Stellan and Bodhi of Billings, MT. He is also survived by nieces and nephews in birth order: Kevin Bertram of Washington DC; Jeffery Murry of Beaverton, OR; Lisa Brady of Cincinnati, OH; Ryan Murry of Bakersfield, CA; Scott Murry of Boston, MA; Tricia Murry of Bakersfield, CA; thirteen great-nieces and great-nephews; as well as his cousins Stephen Quaccia, William Quaccia, Robert Quaccia, Celeste Bell, Ronald Quaccia, Terese Matz, Patrick Fages, Michelle Yates, Chuck Mattson, Marie Weinberger, and Elmer Mattson.

The Memorial Service will be held October 3, 2024, at 10:00 am at St. Patrick Co-Cathedral in Billings, MT. A reception will follow in the church basement. On Friday, October 4, 2024, family and friends are welcome to gather on a chartered bus to MacDonald Pass for a Celebration of Life and a luncheon at the Brewhouse in Helena, MT. The bus will then return to Billings. In honor of Bill, give your loved ones a special hug!

Thank you to Dahl Funeral Chapel for their assistance in Bill's cremation and planning of his service. Special thanks to the Emergency Room Team that tried valiantly to save Bill's life! It wasn't meant to be. “Life is a tapestry. God sees it perfectly finished from above, we see it from the messy underside.”

Memorials in Bill's name are welcome to B.A.R.K., Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, and Habitat for Humanity, or the charity of your choice.