We were greatly saddened to hear of the passing of our uncle Willie Murray last Monday (1st November 2021) in Raigmore hospital where he had been for several weeks. Willie was born on 3rd January 1936 to Alexander and Johan Murray, and was the last surviving and youngest of three brothers, Alexander and my father John. Willie never married but was a much loved uncle to Alex's boys Sandy, Iain and Craig and to me and my late sisters. Willie spent almost his whole life on the family croft in Lonemore, Dornoch, only moving in the last two years to Golspie. He struggled with heart problems, diabetes and became increasingly frail. I saw him in hospital a few weeks ago and while there was some confusion, he had his usual concern for my boys and a desire for any visitors to read the Scriptures and pray.
We all have lots of abiding memories of Lonemore when we visited on holiday. It was quite a challenge for a family of five squeezing in to a two bedroomed croft house, sleeping on antique beds, using, for many years, an outside toilet, and playing in the wrecks of rusty cars and disused tractors. The croft house was full of family heirlooms, rare books and memories stretching back to the late 19th century. Huge piles of cassettes were stacked precariously everywhere and when you were sent to get the Bibles for worship there was often a 'Jenga type' crashing of cassettes. Willie had a low carbon footprint well before it became trendy. He cycled everywhere, burnt almost everything and used very little electricity. Shirts were soaked in the bath and dried on the garden fence. If Willie had an iron, it certainly never connected with a shirt. He had almost no sense of self and was not interested in image.
Willie wasn't keen on passing on any knowledge of farming with 'the boys', but loved discussing animal husbandry with my sister Anna (an agricultural graduate) and my cousin Craig's wife Ishbel who came from farming stock. The exceptions were feeding pet lambs, working in a 'support role' when the sheep went off to market and any rounding up of either sheep or cattle for marking or jagging by the vet.
Willie was an elder in Dornoch Free Church for several decades. His minister for many years, Rev John Macpherson, recently emailed me about Willie and said this: 'I greatly valued Willie as a friend, a brother in Christ and a fellow elder. Though he was a very shy man, I greatly admired the way he fulfilled the pastoral responsibilities of being an elder. I'm sure the number of visits he paid to the sick, the bereaved and those in any kind of trouble must have run into several hundreds. He carried with him "the savour of Christ", so that even those who didn't share his Christian faith greatly appreciated his compassionate concern.' Willie became associated with the Free Church (Continuing) just shortly after the division of 2000. He greatly appreciated the ministry of Rev Alan Murray who he greatly missed after his death. Willie also appreciated the ministry of Rev Thomas Buchanan who has been a faithful pastor to Willie in his illness and a great help in many practical ways. Willie was greatly helped by his neighbours in Lonemore, Mable Lobban and Katherine De Jonckheere who faithfully transported him to church and looked after him in all sorts of ways. Thank you, your kindness has not gone on unnoticed.
Willie knew what was important in life. He was God fearing, Christ centred and pleaded for the power of the Holy Spirit in his own life and on the church. His great prayer was for the church to resist the gimmicks and shallowness of modern evangelicalism and for the power of the Holy Spirit to fall on the church in reforming an reviving power. Willie loved and respected the Lords Day and was grieved as the modern church abandoned it for pragmatism and acceptability. He surrounded himself with the Reformers, the Covenanters and the Puritans and was a veracious reader. Willie must have been one of the last men in Scotland to still listen to tapes of which he had 100's and never failed to find a great sermon if it came up in conversation. Every niece and nephew received the tape series of 'Al Martin on the Fear of God' for their 21st birthday present. His knowledge of Christian news and events was encyclopaedic due to the fact that he received every reformed periodical in circulation. These magazines would be recycled as he visited the elderly in the care homes around Sutherland for most of his life.
Willie was content, humble, slightly shy but was known for his godliness and a deep and reverential fear of God. He never really entered the modern world and was very at home in a simpler, pre internet world where books remained central. Willie will be remembered as a faithful man of God, who held his convictions humbly. His quietness and meekness led to him being taken advantage of by certain people who claimed to be friends. They will have to give an account to a higher court with a judge who sees and knows all things. For his immediate family he will always remain 'uncle Willie', a gentleman, a faithful Christian and much missed uncle.
The funeral will take place in Dornoch Free Church on Thursday 11th November at 12 noon followed by the burial at Dornoch East Cemetery.
Uncle Willie was a rare man indeed, seldom will you find a man so humble, so generous, so little concerned with material things and yet so content. I was privileged to have met him sometime around 2009. 1 Tim 6:6.
ReplyDelete