Byron "Bud/Buddy" Douglas Murray, Jr passed from this life on December 26, 2023 at the Batavia, NY Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.
Born April 14, 1947 to the late Byron and Mary Ann (Narby) Murray, Bud grew up in Emporium, PA and graduated from Cameron County High School in 1965. An outstanding athlete in his day, Murray excelled at baseball, basketball, football, and track in high school.
Bud continued his education at the University of Pittsburgh, including playing freshman basketball. He mastered the craft of carpentry at the North Bennett School in Boston, MA. During his professional career, he worked for a variety of finish carpentry and construction contractors in the Rochester, NY and Emporium, PA areas.
A U.S. Army veteran, Bud served in Vietnam in 1971. The Army trained him as a Thai language interpreter and he also served at the National Security Agency in Ft. Meade, MD.
Through God’s grace, Bud chose a path of sobriety on October 14, 1994. Now “Buddy”, he humbly celebrated his 29th anniversary of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) this past fall. Buddy always pointed to God as the impetus for his sobriety and held a strong, universal, inclusive, and loving faith.
During his 29 years in AA, Buddy participated in and chaired thousands of meetings supporting AA’s work and mission while maintaining his sobriety, one day at a time. Buddy was an open, grateful, and devoted member of AA, acknowledging the crucial role AA played in his physical and mental health, and especially in his sobriety. Buddy was humbled by the AA members who looked for his sponsorship and guidance. In his actions and words, Buddy worked to destigmatize alcoholism, addiction, and AA participation, and to raise awareness of and normalize the importance of mental healthcare.
Buddy was a proud and enthusiastic grandfather to his four (plus) grandchildren. His children would agree that the grandchildren were exuberantly loved and equally spoiled, and that they always knew their grandpa/”apa” adored them with his entire being.
Buddy is survived by his children Byron Douglas Murray, III of Rochester and Marya Murray-Diaz (Carlos) of Roanoke Rapids, NC; his grandchildren, Joshua and Gabriel Murray and Lucia and Carlos Moises Diaz. Additionally, his sisters Ann (Mahlon) Ramarge, Patricia (Herb) Dolaway and Michele (David) Emmett, and brother Stephen (Candace) Murray, and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Buddy is also survived by his former spouse, Nancy Pellam Yaeger, and his stepchildren, Kenneth (Kim) Bauer and Anne (William) Schwalbach.
Besides his parents, Buddy is predeceased by his sister Rita Murray Simon.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2023 at 2:00pm at Immanuel Baptist Church located at 815 Park Ave. Rochester, NY 14607.
Memorial donations can be made to the organization of the donor’s choice; the family recommends SAFEProject (safeproject.us), a nonprofit focusing in part on support for our veterans’ mental health and addiction recovery. Please note: Alcoholics Anonymous does not take donations from the public.
If you would like to share memories of or clever phrases from Buddy/Bud, please send an email to BuddyismsandBudisms@gmail.com. Thank you for your support of the family’s memory project.
Please leave a condolence, share a story, or light a candle at www.bataviafuneralhomes.com.
