He made Queen Anne News a springboard to a publishing empire and political prominence
John Staton Murray, Seattle publisher and state legislator, passed away peacefully at his home Oct. 17.
Born in Albany, Missouri, on Aug. 18, 1925, to Geoffrey and Cecil Murray, he moved to Seattle when he was 12.
Mr. Murray was an avid skier and mountaineer, climbing the six highest peaks in Washington state. After graduating from Lincoln High School, he joined the Army in 1943 and worked at building bridges across Europe for advancing U.S. troops. He returned to Seattle in 1946, resumed his education and graduated from the University of Washington in 1948. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
In 1953, he purchased the Queen Anne News, the first step in building the Murray Publishing Company. Murray presses printed dozens of local newspapers, including the Issaquah Press, Magnolia News, Lake City Star and the first Vietnamese and Norwegian papers in the state. He also was the last owner of the venerable Argus, one of the most distinctive of Northwest publications.
His weekly front-page editorials in Queen Anne News addressed community issues and explained the political decision-making process as he saw it. Mr. Murray's interest in politics extended to a run for public office. Elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1966, he served four years in the House, followed by eight years in the Senate.
During these years Mr. Murray championed some of the first environmental bills in the nation. He also was instrumental in establishing 22 community colleges and the Evergreen State College. He was the prime sponsor for standardized training for law enforcement officials, and professional degree programs available through community colleges.
John and his wife, Ginny, were active participants in the Queen Anne and Magnolia communities where they raised their four children. Mr. Murray was a member of the Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs as well as the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he served as president of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, as first chairman of the State Oceanographic Commission and on the boards of the Seattle Children's Home and the Queen Anne United Methodist Church.
Mr. Murray retired in 1988 from Murray Publishing Company, which was later purchased by Pacific Publishing Company, along with the Robinson chain of newspapers such as the Capitol Hill Times.
In 1999, he married Jean Peters Colman. They enjoyed skiing and travel between their homes in Utah, Arizona, and Seattle. His family remembers him as a loving husband and father, generous, kind and always encouraging with his rational perspective.
He is survived by his wife, Jean Colman; his brother Alan Keith Murray, of Maryland; former wife Ginny Murray, of Seattle, and their children Jeff Murray, of Orcas Island; Nancy Rowland (Randy), of Seattle; Jill Hamilton (Craig), of Tacoma; Robert Murray (Micaela), of Lake Forest Park; as well as stepson Ken Colman (Sharon), of Birch Bay; stepdaughter Christine Colman (Steve Johnson), of Seattle; and 11 grandchildren.
[[In-content Ad]]
