Memorable Manitobans: Melvin Earl Murray (1901-1986)

Garage owner, community activist.

Born at Neepawa on 16 October 1901, son of Melville Murray (1871-?) and Helen Galloway Robertson (1876-?), in 1932, he received a contract for the sales and service of Pontiac and Buick automobiles in the Neepawa area and started Murray’s Garage, later renamed Murray’s of Neepawa in 1964. On 5 November 1924, he married Margaret Mary McIntosh at Neepawa. They had one son, Gerald Murray (?-1992). He served on the town council and a member and chairman of the Neepawa Hospital Board. He worked for the Osborne Home for Senior Citizens, United Church, Lions Club, curling clubs, and other community organizations. He was Vice Chairman of the advisory committee on community development on the committee on Manitoba’s future. He was a Progressive Conservative candidate for the Gladstone constituency in the 1959 provincial general election but lost in a close race with Nelson Shoemaker. In recognition of his community service, he was given a Manitoba Golden Boy Award (1962) and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977). He died at Brandon on 4 September 1986 and was buried in the Neepawa Riverside Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“12 Manitobans receive awards for service to province,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 May 1962, page 19.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 5 September 1986, page 24.

The Beautiful Plains Story, 1983-2008 by Neepawa and Area History Committee, 2008, page 106.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 November 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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