ANNOUNCING MEMORIAL FUND FOR FORMER ISLE ROYALE PILOT DON MURRAY Born in 1928, Don was independent-minded, definitely self-made. He was largely on his own by the age of 12. He completed his formal education through the 8th grade, and his first job driving a truck was probably at age 14. He earned 3 Bronze Stars while serving in the Army in Korea. He officially learned how to fly an airplane after returning to Minnesota from military service, but he reported “barnstorming” with a friend at an early age, flying loops and other acrobatics until they made each other airsick. Don married Helen Eastman from Bemidji, MN, in 1950, and they had 7 children – Mary Lou, Larry (Skip), Michael, Ron, Pat, Cheryl, and David. Don was buried with military honors on 21 November, in Virginia, Minnesota. His wife of 63 years passed away in 2013. Don had an extraordinary ability to see animals in the field. His intuitive understanding of animal behavior and his “feel” for flying small aircraft proved indispensable to his annual work at Isle Royale, where he was the winter study pilot from 1959 to 1979. In response to interest in a memorial opportunity to honor Don, a fund has been established to support wolf-moose research at Isle Royale, at the following site: https://banweb.mtu.edu/pls/owa/gift.p_give?desig=1816_Wolf_Moose_Fund (indicate “Don Murray Memorial Fund”). Specifically, donations will support the work by a two-person volunteer field crew in winter, dedicated to collecting samples to monitor the nutritional condition of moose. In his day, Don would have been thoroughly involved in such an activity, with his customary good cheer and creativity.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 03:52:32 +0000
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