James Edward Murry III June 23, 1948-November 19, 2018 PENDLETON – James Edward “Jim” Murry III died November 19 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Washington, after putting up a valiant battle following a heart attack. Jim was born June 23, 1948, to James Edward Murry II and Martha Dammann Murry in Ottawa, Illinois. He graduated from Marquette High School in Ottawa, and then from St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa.
He was also a member of the Marine Reserves. He made a career for himself as a quality assurance expert in the flour milling industry. He married Kathleen Ryan Murry and had two children.
The family moved from Davenport, Iowa to Chattanooga Tennessee. After they were divorced, he married Terry Stutts Murry, and they had four children. In Chattanooga, he worked for Dixie Portland Flour Mills and began what became a secondary career and his true passion of coaching his children and their friends in baseball and soccer.
Jim, Terry and their children moved from Chattanooga to Pendleton in 1992, and he was the quality control manager at Dixie Portland Flour Mills until 2009. He left there and worked at mills in North Carolina and Utah until he retired. In Pendleton, he coached Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, Pendleton Youth Basketball, and Pendleton Youth Soccer.
He was also a FIFA soccer referee. His happiest memories are moments from the teams he coached and from elk hunting, which didn’t produce many elk, but did provide a chance for his children and his closest friends to bond together and share the wonders of the Elkhorn Mountains. He tied his own flies and was an avid fisherman and bird hunter.
The central focus of his life was his children and, in turn, his children’s friends, whom he cherished with all his heart. Preceding him in death are his grandparents, his parents, and his brother Ralph Murry. He is survived by his brother, Kevin Murry of Ottawa, Illinois; his sister Margaret Murry Lockhart and her husband Bob of Sparland, Illinois; his sons Kevin Murry of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Jimmy Murry (IV) of Keizer, Oregon; Brady Murry and Kitt Murry of Pendleton; and his daughters Suzy Murry Anthony and her husband Mike of Chattanooga; and Molly Murry and her partner Andrew Kelly of Washington, D.C.; his grandchildren Addyson, Cade, and Stella Murry; and Franklin and Clark Anthony, all of Chattanooga.
In addition he is survived by three nieces, numerous cousins, his son-in-spirit Bryce Cooper of Seattle, and many boys and girls who are now all grown up, but still call him Coach. At his request, there will be no funeral service. His family will gather at his favorite elk camp site this spring to scatter his ashes.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages people to either volunteer for or donate to a youth organization in his memory.
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