John Murray died on 9/20/24. His obituary is here. The obituary chronicles in summary his DOJ Tax career that is known to all of us but here it is:
He was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, with honors, and its Law School, finishing second in his class. He received an appointment to become a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice. He litigated federal tax cases in United States District Courts throughout the country and argued appeals in federal Circuit Courts. He received promotions through his Justice Department career to his final rank of Deputy Assistant Attorney General. He also served as Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Tax Division for nearly a year. Among the many awards he received over his career were the Attorney General’s Award from Robert F. Kennedy and the Distinguished Executive Award presented to him by President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony.
I particularly like the following from the obituary:
Blessed with an infectious sense of humor, John loved associating with co-workers, neighbors, friends, and most especially his family. He particularly enjoyed his high school, college, and law school reunions, all of which he faithfully attended, and was a loyal Notre Dame sports fan. Along with his wife, he traveled extensively throughout the world, visiting all fifty states and many international destinations.
The obituary says also:
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:30pm on Thursday, September 26th at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 8710 Mount Vernon Highway, Alexandria, Virginia 22309 (a link for the livestreaming is https://youtube.com/live/pAoFZ8KewRo?feature=share). A reception will follow at Mount Vernon Country Club. In lieu of flower donations may be made to Good Shepherd Housing at www.goodhousing,org. or Good Shepherd Housing & Family Services, P.O. Box 1266, Newington, VA 22122.
On a personal note, John was my boss in DOJ Tax Refund 2 in the mid-1970s. He was the best boss I ever had. He was a great mentor and leader. We had a small group of DOJ Tax Refund 2 Alumni who had occasional Zoom sessions for the last few years. He will be missed in that group as well.
Condolences particularly to his wife, Nell, his family, and all of his friends.
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DeleteOne the greatest people I have ever know. John was a great human being. I loved that man. He was very important in my life. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteKris and I learned tonight of the death of one of the five most influential persons in my life: John Murray, who took a big chance when he hired me into the Justice Department’s Tax Division’s Civil Trial Southern section in 1977. John was many things – an accomplished trial lawyer, a great father and husband, and a very funny man - but most of all, to me, he was the greatest boss a person could have, ever.
ReplyDeleteWhen I joined Justice, there had been a hiring freeze; most offices on our floor were empty. We were working 70-80 hour weeks to meet the work load. What made it tolerable was our knowledge that John knew and appreciated what we were doing, and the pressure on us, and he tried earnestly to make our lives easier. We never complained because we knew he had our backs.
When we made mistakes – and trial lawyers make lots of mistakes – John understood from personal experience the dynamic and the challenges. He took advantage of every “teachable moment,” but he knew the difference between “a dumb move” and “something that was reasonable when conceived, but that just did not work out.” His teaching did not come with blame. He backed his lawyers, he knew from experience that things can move pretty fast in a courtroom, and we worked even harder to justify his confidence in us.
A good man has passed. There is a hole in my life.
Jerry Leedom