By Lauren FitzPatrick
Staff writer
John Michael Murray, a Marist brother of 36 years with strong ties to Marist High School, has died at age 55.
The Southwest Side native who returned to teach at his high school alma mater years later died Dec. 12. He had been ill for several months.
Brother John was baptized at St. John Fisher church in Chicago’s Beverly community and attended the parish school. He went on to attend the new Marist High School, and was part of the school’s very first graduating class in 1967.
He joined the Marist brothers on Aug. 23, 1968, and earned a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.
Brother John loved literature and had quite a way with the English language.
“He could easily quote from literature I’d never even heard of,” said the Rev. Bill O’Donnell, who presided over Brother John’s funeral Mass.
Once he became a Marist brother, Brother John went on to earn other degrees from Northeastern University of Boston and the University of Notre Dame, the one his family said gave him great pride.
Since the early 1980s, Brother John served as the brothers’ provincial treasurer, handling their finances.
“He stretched many a dollar in order to serve the brothers as a steward of their resources,” said O’Donnell, explaining how Murray negotiated hospital bills on behalf of the brothers.
During his tenure as treasurer, he laid the foundation for the current good financial health of the brothers, added Brother John Klein, the provincial.
“He was first and foremost a teacher,” Klein said. “He loved his students.”
Brother John taught religion and English in several Marist-run schools in New York and Massachusetts. He taught at St. Martin de Porres school in Chicago during the early 1990s and then worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Newman Center until 1999 when he returned to Marist on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
As a teacher, he had also directed high school dramas out of a profound love of Broadway shows and show tunes.
“Jack loved to show people around the city,” said his cousin Terry Kelly. “(He) was the guy to go to.
“You have to see a show downtown,” Kelly said his cousin would tell visitors before buying them bargain seats to the latest production.
Brother John also was known among his family and Marist brothers as a compassionate, sincere man who loved a good story, a man who maintained his intelligent wit until the end.
“He wanted to get better,” Kelly said. “He kept his humor.”
Lauren FitzPatrick may be reached at lfitzpatrick@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5964.
Name: Brother John Michael Murray F.M.S.
Born: April 18, 1949
Died: Dec. 12, 2004
Survivors: Many cousins and friends, and the Marist community.
Memorial service: Arrangements were by Andrew J. McGann and Son Funeral Home, (773) 783-7700.
Memorial gifts: Marist Brothers Ministries, 4200 W. 115th St., Chicago, IL 60655.
