Obituary of John R. Murray

John R. (Jack) Murray of Reston, (formerly of Arlington) Virginia passed away on Monday, November 28, 2016. He was born on February 9, 1930, in Norwood, Massachusetts to the late Peter J. and Katherine R. Murray. After graduation from high school in 1948, he enlisted in the Army and later when the Korean War started, he volunteered for Korea where he served as an engineer intelligence NCO with I corps at Uijongbu, Korea. As a reservist, he was a member of the funeral cortege of the World War II and Korean War unknown soldiers buried in Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day 1958, in the presence of President Eisenhower. After leaving active service he attended American University, graduating in 1959 with a degree in economics at which time he enrolled at Georgetown University Law School graduating in 1963 with a Juris Doctor degree and became a reservist with the Army JAG Corps. After several years as a lawyer-advisor with the Federal government he became counsel to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Later he returned to Federal service as chief of staff to Congressman Kenneth Gray of Illinois. Upon the Congressman’s retirement he took a position with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol as assistant general counsel, retiring in 1985, at which time he opened a private law practice in Arlington, Virginia. He was a past President of Capitol Hill Toastmasters. In retirement he worked as a volunteer with the Korean War Veterans Memorial Board until the memorial was dedicated in 1995 by President Clinton. He was also a volunteer with the USO of Washington and Travelers Aid at Regan National Airport and Dulles International Airport. He was past Judge Advocate of American Legion Post #139, Arlington, Chaplain of D.A.V. Chapter 10 and was the founder and Commander of Capitol Chapter #100 of the Korean War Veterans Association. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, The Army Commendation Medal, the Korean Service Medal with three campaign stars and The United Nations Medal, among others, and he was entitled to wear U.S. and Korean Presidential Unit Citations. Survivors include his wife, Betty, of Reston; daughter, Susanna Samick (Michael) of Houston, Texas; two sons, Peter (Holly) of Oak Hill and John (Nicole) of Hilton Head, South Carolina; eight grandchildren, Matthew, Kelly, Christopher, Jack, Kristina, Daniel, Allison and Emily; two brothers, David and Paul Murray; and a sister, Mary Strange. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at St. Thomas a’ Becket Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Chestnut Grove Cemetery.