Services for Bill Murray, the longtime MWW and friend of all, will be held Thursday (from 4-6) at Tuttle Funeral Home at 272 Route 10 in Randolph.
A reception will follow at the Black River Barn (further West on 1178 Route 10 in Randolph.
Murray, 67, died June 12, from complications of pneumonia and cancer, which he fought selflessly, while characteristically doing it “his way.”
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill’s name to:
The Long Beach Island Historical Association, 129 Engleside Ave., Beach Haven, NJ 08008, a group that preserves his favorite vacation spot;
The Mental Health Association of New Jersey, 673 Morris Ave., #100, Springfield, NJ 07081, for which Bill sat on the Board of Directors.
A touching obituary can be found here.
It is pasted below.
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William Patrick Murray, age 67, died on June 12, 2025, from complications of pneumonia and cancer, which he fought selflessly, while characteristically doing it “his way”.
Bill entered this world on December 2, 1957, as part of a dynamic duo — as he would say, the “main event” preceded by the “opening act”: his twin brother, Brian. They were an inseparable, if dueling, pair, living together in various settings in Dover, at West Virginia University, and in bachelor pads throughout northern New Jersey for the first 32 years of their lives. They were devoted — and demonic — big brothers to Debbie, and the pride and challenge of their parents, Tom and Marlene.
Marriage to Sarah DeCicco in 1992 brought Bill an instant new family, complete with stepdaughter Danielle, and later, two more girls, Jacqueline and Nicolette.
Bill’s life was colored with highly specific interests and collections. A prolific curator of music, he was most proud of his many thousands of vinyl albums, and just as many CDs, covering genres from classic rock to punk to alternative, all carefully counted, categorized and catalogued. A movie buff, specifically of the sci-fi, fantasy and superhero varieties, he owned hundreds of DVDs, though he lately had embraced streaming platforms, particularly programming focused on history and genealogy. Christmas was his favorite holiday, and he cultivated an assortment of dozens of unique nutcrackers. Pewter dragons and wizards and gargoyle figurines lined the shelves of his home office.
Rivaling his dedication as an archivist of music was his skill as a fisherman, starting in his youth. Alongside the more obvious outdoor sportsmen, Bill outdid them all with his talent for reeling in outsized trout. Many a fisherman left the Musconetcong and Paulinskill Rivers frustrated that Bill seemed to snap up all the best specimen, and in great number.
The eccentricity and unexpected elements of his personal life surprisingly worked in concert with his work life.
Professionally, he was all business, admittedly as obsessive about making things precision perfect for his clientele and colleagues, as he was in practicing his hobbies. His 35-year career at MWW, which became the present day MikeWorldWide, culminated in his appointment as Executive Vice President and National Director, Public Affairs, representing such varied public relations and government affairs projects as New Jersey’s “Stronger than the Storm” campaign, and the Archdiocese of Newark. His career started at a small agency in Lake Hopatcong, where he and Sarah were co-workers. Later, when their careers diverged, he proposed marriage in predictable fashion on April Fool’s Day, over a business lunch.
Rituals and traditions were his trademark, and enhanced family life in ways that will be carried on by his wife and daughters indefinitely. No autumn was complete without both apple and pumpkin picking, long after the girls were adults and had to pretend to still be little kids. Christmas had to center around a real live tree, and stuffed animals for daughters even in their 20s and 30s. He was passionate about Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, his infamous backyard BBQs, and the fishing season from early April to Memorial Day. His youngest daughter, Nickie, has followed her father’s lead in continuing those celebrations and activities, serving as his constant fishing buddy from age 6 through college. In fact, Nickie’s college admissions essay was about fishing with Dad and how that shaped her appreciation for nature, and for developing patience.
Bill and middle daughter, Jackie, loved to stroll through the village of Chester, and frequented the tea shop there, sipping and conversing, or, as Bill reported, “being interviewed and analyzed”. Local summertime happy hours were shared with oldest daughter, Danielle, and they would also often sit on the back deck, listening to 60s music and splitting a bottle of Pinot Noir. An animal nut, Bill entertained and irritated family members and pets alike with his screeching cell phone videos of all manner of wildlife. His special alter ego was Dixie the cat, and he was likewise adored by his dogs, Frankie and Red, who sensed when he needed their comfort as he became ill.
Together, Bill and Sarah made yearly pilgrimages with the girls to Peddler’s Village in Pennsylvania at Thanksgiving, to his beloved childhood destination of Long Beach Island in July, and to Turtleback Zoo on Labor Day weekend, often including Bill’s mom, Marlene. Their favorite weekend past time was bringing Mom to the movies and eating at the local diner, and they were excited to include her on one of the family trips to Europe, and to a close friend’s wedding in the Dominican Republic. The family was blessed to have taken a long-awaited trip to Dublin shortly before Bill’s passing.
Though Bill was born a twin, he was one of a kind, and he impressed all who knew him as a tireless story teller, with no detail left untold; an inspiration to his staff; a model of perseverance and hard work; and the engine that drove family life, ever steady in the background, making everyone else’s life better.
Survivors include his three daughters and wife, Professor Sarah Murray; his twin brother and sister-in-law, the Honorable Joan Bedrin Murray; his sister Deborah and her husband John Olah, Australian son-in-law Alexander Roberts Love, sisters in law Susan Kovalinsky and Julie Farneski, nieces and nephews, and great nieces and great nephew. His mother Marlene recently celebrated birthday number 89. Bill is predeceased by his father, Thomas.
