John R. “Jack” Murray, one of the Harrisburg region’s longest-serving and most-beloved public officials, died on Nov. 28. Murray, who spent nearly his whole life in New Cumberland, was 88.
Elected to New Cumberland Borough Council in 1976, Murray immediately was elected council president, a post he held for 44 years.
Through his nearly half-century of service, Murray helped lead the borough’s response to natural and man-made disasters and improved its fiscal stability, while serving as a coach and mentor to generations of young athletes, according to friends and colleagues.
“New Cumberland was his number one priority other than his family,” said Robert Kline, the current borough council president.
Kline and Murray overlapped on council for ten years. Kline said Murray once explained his commitment to public service by saying he didn’t play golf, so he devoted the time to public service.
Murray helped guide the borough through events including the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, Susquehanna River floods and improving waste water treatment to protect the Chesapeake Bay.
Murray also served as a longtime youth baseball and football coach.
William Heffelfinger grew up with one of Murray’s three sons and played on teams coached by Murray.
“I thought of him as a father. I think he thought of me as a son and I was part of their family. We did everything together and I’m so grateful for him. If I didn’t have him, I don’t know where I would have ended up today,” he said.
Heffelfinger, 60, said he remained close to Murray through the years and often encountered him at high school football games.
“I tried to grow up to be like him. He took care of his family. He took care of anybody that needed help. Plus, he ran New Cumberland,” he said.
DJ Landis, a long-time elected official in New Cumberland, said she knew Murray for 50 years, serving with him on borough council and interacting with him extensively while she was mayor.
“I found him a fascinating man and I so admired the way he conducted the borough. He was just phenomenal,” she said.
Landis credits Murray for saving money and putting the borough on strong financial footing leading up to construction of a new borough building in the 1980s.
She said he also showed exceptional passion and leadership when a local family donated a mansion which the borough then turned into the New Cumberland Public Library.
Kline said Murray had vast experience and knowledge of local issues which helped solve many problems. He also credits Murray with thinking of the little things, such as arranging in advance for Dumpsters as residents cleaned up after floods near where the Yellow Breeches Creek empties into the Susquehanna.
Heffelfinger described Murray as “straight to the point and he didn’t mince words.”
Kline said he’s sure some in the borough felt Murray had too much influence for too long and was too set in his ways.
However, he said, as a fellow elected official, he found Murray to be respectful, willing to listen and capable of changing his mind.
In early November, Murray was interviewed and recorded as part of a cultural series at New Cumberland Public Library.
He was introduced as “a living New Cumberland treasure” and described as “wonderful, irascible and never boring.”
One participant, a long-time neighbor, said she and Murray disagreed on politics and issues such as gun possession, yet were good friends, with Murray also having a strong, positive influence on her children.
Obituary information wasn’t available as of late Wednesday. Murray is survived by his wife, Connie, and their three sons. A twin brother, James, also of New Cumberland, died in 2016.
Murray, who served in the Army infantry during the Korean War, spent the bulk of his career as a telephone company executive, according to Heffelfinger.
During the November interview at the library, Murray arrived in a wheelchair and joked about bodily “system failures” and needing hearing aides. It was the Sunday of a Phillies World Series game, and he urged anyone with an update to interrupt him. He referred to his wife, who wasn’t there, as “the hero.”
Murray told of growing up in a house that still stands at 414 1/2 Market Street. He said his father had an eighth-grade education, but was a passionate reader and exceptionally smart as a result. He also said his father was a local baseball star, but Murray couldn’t match his athletic skill. However, he said his father told him sitting on the bench was a great place to learn baseball, and urged him to watch sports closely rather than talk or joke.
Landis, 86, said Murray called her every other day until his final week.
“He was not in good shape, but he wanted to make sure I took care of myself,” she said.
Longtime New Cumberland resident Harry Jenkins once had concerns about how the borough was handling certain issues. He took to speaking up at council meetings -- so much that Murray “had a little ditty that he hummed” as Jenkins approached the podium.
However, he says “Jack truly made me feel he was listening and he never cut me off when I went over the allowed three minutes.”
This past summer, Jenkins would stop to talk to Murray as Murray sat on his porch smoking a cigar.
“During the last visit, he said, ‘You know Harry, we have crossed swords on issues, but it sure is nice we can still sit together and shoot the breeze’,” Jenkins said.
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