Joseph Coors Murray, Sr., age 73, of Charleston, Maine, formerly of Tewksbury and Wilmington, MA, died peacefully at his home on November 7, 2015.
Joe was the beloved father of Joseph Coors, Jr., Eric, Billy & his wife Michele (DelNinno), Krysta (Murray) O’Neill & her husband Steve, Danny & his wife Kara (Buckley) and Rebekah (Murray) Tkachuk & her husband Mike, all of Wilmington and Tewksbury as well as, Mandi Murray of Charleston, Maine and Harley Murray of China, Maine. Stepfather of Jody (Britt) Morse and her husband Dan of Waldoboro, Maine and Jason and Debra Britt of New Hampshire. “Grandpa Joe” of his grandchildren Jake, Tyler, Maryssa, Stephanie, Brooke, Jamie, Jenna, Danielle, Stephanie, Joseph Coors, III, Madisyn, Carson, Shane, McKenna, Chase, Kelli, and Danny, Jr. Son of the late Hamilton Murray & Beverly (Barnes) Murray. Joe was the brother of the deceased Ralph Murray and Bronson Murray both of Florida and half-brother of Rob Reymes of Canada.
Joe was proud to be named after his father’s best friend, Joseph Coors, son of Adolph Coors of the Coors Brewing Company.
After High School, Joe enlisted in the US NAVY where he served on the USS Cony. Following his discharge, he met his first wife and settled in Somerville, where they began to raise their growing family. The family moved to Tewksbury in 1971, where they settled for many years, raising six children in a small ranch house that he added on to continually. After the divorce of his first wife, Joe met Linda Britt and they eventually married and settled in Charleston, Maine in 1986, raising their 2 daughters and becoming a step dad to Linda’s son Jason and daughter Jody.
While living in Massachusetts, Joe worked for years as a Teamster. He was an over the road truck driver for Harnum and Testa of Wilmington and loved driving cross-country. He supported his large family with a side business of tree work with his infamous blue bucket truck. Raising such a large family was no match for Joe’s resourcefulness. He was known for converting school busses to campers and found a way to take everyone that wanted to go, on vacation every summer. Visits to the top of the Prudential Center to look out and see the city, Logan Airport to watch the planes take off, or watching the free exhibits outside the aquarium were inexpensive ways to build memories and spend time together.
Joe was known for driving his tractor in the neighborhood anywhere he lived and making huge snow piles for the kids to sled down.
In his later years, Joe always found a way to stay busy, either chopping and stacking wood, riding his beloved Harley Davidson or taking a ride to the corner store for a coffee. Joe spent a little more than the last decade of his life as a member of the Saracens Motor Cycle Club. His ‘brothers’ in the club made his final decade filled with honor. He wore his leather jacket proud and would ride hundreds of miles to pay tribute to any members or associates with Love & Respect!
His core strengths will live on in all of his children – independence, strong work ethic and resourcefulness. He taught all of his kids how to stack wood, it didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl or even a neighborhood kid, if you were in his yard and he was doing wood so were you. He would say the thing he did right in life was having his children and enjoyed anytime they would visit especially when they came with grandchildren. His name sake was his best friend, confidant and most trusted advisor, not only were they mirror images of each other their understanding of each other was like no other it was true Love & Respect!
Family & friends will gather at the VFW Hall, 87 Vernon St. in Tewksbury MA, on Saturday November 21, 2015 at 6:00 pm to celebrate his life and legacy.
(NOTE: The above obituary and photo are from Nichols Funeral Home.)
Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook! Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter! Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE! Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com
Wilmington Apple 