IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Robert "Bob"

Robert "Bob" Murray Profile Photo

Murray

d. Apr 15, 2025

Obituary

To Watch Bob's Slideshow please click on little white arrow above.

/fh_live/12200/12288/media/Bob-s-Memorial-Folder.pdf

To view Bob's Memorial Folder, please click link above.

The location of the memorial gathering for Robert J. Murray (Bob)  has moved from Rowe Funeral Home to the Murray residence, 21422 Keyview Drive, Grand Rapids, MN. The gathering will start at 1 p.m., Sunday, August 3, 2025.

Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 4, 2025, at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Coleraine, MN. Visitation will begin at the church one hour prior to the mass. Interment will be at Itasca-Calvary Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

Robert J. Murray (Bob), aged 82, passed away peacefully at his home in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on April 15, 2025, under the compassionate care of St. Croix Hospice, with his wife, Mary Jo closely tending to him.

Bob was born August 11, 1942, the son of John and Gertrude Murray in Superior, Wisconsin. He graduated from Cathedral High School in Superior in 1960. Bob honed his skills as a master plumber, having started in his father's plumbing shop. He proudly served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard from 1962 to 1979 reflecting his dedication and commitment to both community and country.

Bob married the love of his life, Mary Jo Ratai, on October 19, 1968, at St. John's Catholic Church in Virginia, Minnesota.

After working in various plumbing shops in Superior he moved on to a pipefitter position at Blandin Paper Company where he worked until retirement in 2003. The family had made the move to a serene country home near Pengilly in 1977 raising three daughters amongst the white pines and horse pastures.

Bob hand built a garage/workshop with lumber logged off the property there and started a side business "Pine Acres, Ent." Bob aways enjoyed building and working on all kinds of projects and was truly a jack-of-all-trades. His shop was his "happy place."

Preceded in death by his mother Gertrude Murray; father John Murray; infant son; daughter Teresa Rajala and son-in-law Nik Rajala; brother Tom Murray (Barb); niece Wendy Kaarto and in-laws, Joe and Klara Ratai.

Survived by his loving wife Mary Jo; daughters: Amanda Spiller and Jaime (Mathew) Sexton; grandchildren: Cameron Spiller, Joe Spiller, Jonathan (Lane) Sexton and Grant Sexton; sister Nancy Marello, and three nephews, Scott Kaarto, and Ryan and Eric Murray.

In lieu of flowers memorials preferred to St. Croix Hospice (st.croixhospice.com) and the ALS Association (als.org).

The location of the memorial gathering for Robert J. Murray (Bob)  has moved from Rowe Funeral Home to the Murray residence, 21422 Keyview Drive, Grand Rapids, MN. The gathering will start at 1 p.m., Sunday, August 3, 2025.

Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 4, 2025, at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Coleraine, MN. Visitation will begin at the church one hour prior to the mass. Interment will be at Itasca-Calvary Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

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Program for Robert "Bob" Murray
Open

Funeral Services

Memorial Gathering

August
3

Sunday

1:00 - 6:00 pm

Memorial Mass

August
4

Monday

Mary Immaculate Catholic Church

10 Corey Street, Bovey, MN 55709

Starts at 11:00 am

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