Aug 30, 1944 - May 1, 2018
Murray was born to May and Jim Swales in Vancouver, living in Deep Cove until the family moved to Calgary at his age of five. It was in Calgary where he met and fell in love with Donna, who became his bride and partner for what was to be 51 years. In January of 1973 they left Alberta and traveled North to the Yukon with their young daughter.
As a young adult Murray served in the Canadian Air Force and then became an electrician in his early 20's, which was his life-long trade. An entrepreneur at heart, he and his wife Donna had several businesses over their 45-years in the Yukon. With Donna, Murray was an electrical contractor (Swales Electric), an electrical-lighting store owner (Pyramid Distributors), a fuel distribution company (Kreitzer Fuel) and lastly Trails North, which sold in 2010.
Besides truly enjoying his work, his co-worker/employees and client relationships, Murray took delight in figuring, constructing or fixing nearly anything, a trait he inherited from his Dad and passed on to his son, Greg. When not on the job he could be found in his shop or on the boat, tinkering. His other passion was volunteering, especially with the local Rotary Clubs - he wanted to improve the lives of people and gave of himself to make the world a better place. He had a special place in his heart also for Autism Yukon.
He will be profoundly missed by his wife Donna, his son Greg (Wendy), grandsons Owen and Tate, his daughter Katie (Dave) and his dog Meadie; his sister Sharon (Garnet) Craig -Alison, Cameron, Michele; brother-in-law Cliff (Carol) Spicer (Stony plain, Alberta) - Brandi, Kellie; his sister-in-law Doreen (Larry) Funfer (Calgary) - Paul and Scott. Murray was one of the good ones and we will miss him.
At Murray's request, there will be no service. His ashes will be buried on Grey Mountain at some point in the coming months. Donna hopes you may consider stopping up there for a visit later in the summer as he really enjoyed visiting with people.