Murray Murdoch MONTGOMERY

Montgomery : Murray Murdoch 1923-2004 Murray Murdoch Montgomery, of Rosedale, passed away peacefully on October 11, 2004 with his loving wife, Elene by his side. Murray was born on August 30, 1923 in a stone house (now a historical site) built by his father in the Mount Ptolemy district of Victoria, BC. He was the fourth of five children. Being a stonemason, his Dad took his family wherever he had work to do. In 1926, Murray?s family moved back to Ontario. Here, his dad's work took them to London, Hamilton and Toronto areas where he worked on many of the churches and government buildings. He was also at Niagara Falls where the stone wall still stands. Like his father, Murray made his living with his hands ? but his tools were paints and palette. Many of his paintings are in private collections throughout the world. In later years, he opened the Drumheller Art Gallery where as well as showing art works, he sold art supplies, books and did framing. Sometimes it was a meeting place for young and old to enjoy good conversation and friendly arguments. He also shared his talent with others and taught many Drumheller area people how to paint. At age 17, Murray joined the Canadian Fusiliers. He took training in Vernon and Vancouver, after which he was posted to Aleutian Islands at Attu. When he arrived there, the Japanese had just left, leaving behind comfortable caves with matted floors, still stocked with food, rice oil and sake in niches carved out of the walls. These were great shelters from the howling North Pacific winds. When he came back to Toronto, he joined the Queen's Own Rifles as a Rifleman. He soon found himself in England and later on D-Day plus one, landed on the Normandy beaches. From France, he fought through Belgium, Holland and Germany. During this time, he began exchanging letters with a young woman named Elene Madsen. Soon after he came back to Canada, they were married. They traveled to British Columbia where Elene had a teaching position, but ended up in the Drumheller Valley, first to East Coulee and finally to Rosedale where they set their roots. Murray enjoyed traveling and there were many a weekend when they would pack up their VW van and later, their camper and explored small town British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. He and Elene learned much about the area by visiting coffee shops and talking to the locals. He also enjoyed fishing, whether to local lakes or to Fort Frances, Ontario to a long-time friend?s cottage where they would catch walleye right off the dock and eat fresh fish for supper. His love for travel and discovery also took them to Chicago, Toronto, Mesa, Vancouver and Victoria. He and Elene toured the Alaska Highway with Chris and Karen Ostergard one summer and the next traveled to Yellowknife with Eleanora and Bill Vogt and friends. He also flew to Turkey with Jimmy Berlando, Mike Salvador and Frank Bernardo. He enjoyed watching birds and the bird feeder provided him with much entertainment as chickadees, nuthatches, finches and the odd blue jay fluttered and chattered over seeds and nuts. Murray leaves to mourn his loving wife of 56 years, Elene, his son Loren, daughter-in-law, Janice, and precious granddaughter Jenna; brother Bill and Mira Montgomery, and nephew Jamie and Chizuru Montgomery and Sean; sister Ruth Haas; in-laws Bob and Edesse Madsen, Bill and Eleanora Vogt and nephews and nieces, Grant and Echo Vogt, Tiger and Errol, Lisa and Amber; Greg and Elaine Vogt, Hillary and Colleen; Terry and Pam Vogt, Sheena and Kyle; Suzanne and Darren McIntosh, Samara and Nikki; and Sheryl and Edward Loman, Justin, Jocelyn and Luke and many other relatives and friends. The night Murray passed away, the Northern Lights danced in the sky, and the stars twinkled brightly. We like to think his soul was guided by that wondrous celestial show. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice.