Dr. Steven H. Murdock age 75 was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, June 2, 1948 and passed away on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 1:23 p.m. due to a fall in the Memory Center where he lived the last 6 months of his life. Steven was predeceased in death by his mother Lois Maureen Murdock and his father Raymond Harold Murdock of Milnor, North Dakota. He is survived by his spouse of 27 years Mary Zey of Austin, TX; his stepson James Collins Ferrell of Houston, TX; his grandson George Collins Ferrell, whom he adored, of Buda, TX; his sister and brother-in-law, Joann and Roger Lonbaken of Pierre, South Dakota and his brother and sister-in-law Lee and June Murdock of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Steve studied and wrote about the distribution of populations of the State of Texas. He wrote dozens of books and nearly 50 academic journal articles about US and Texas changing population characteristics, such as race, education, and income. As Professor and Head of demographic studies at Texas A&M University in College Station for 25 years, Professor and Head of Population Studies at the University of Texas in San Antonio for 10 years, and Director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University in Houston for 9 years, he originated and institutionalized the position of “Texas State Demographer” by making on average between 50 to 60 requested presentations each year (to groups such as Texas legislators, superintendents of education, and other academic) on the growth and changing distributions of Texas’ population. He supported and served as Major Professor for scores of PhD students, whom he loved dearly. In addition to holding named professorships in each of these three universities, he was the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington DC during the George W. Bush Administration.
Steve’s Life will be celebrated at an Open Memorial on Saturday evening April 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 411 RR 620 South, Lakeway, TX. Call 512-263-1511 for information. The public is invited.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Steven Murdock and Dr. Mary Zey Demography Fellowship at the University of Texas San Antonio online at http://giving.utsa.edu/makeagift. Choose “Other” in the drop-down menu and enter “in memory of Steven Murdock or mail your gift payable to UTSA Gift Services, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78249, on memo line write “in memory of Steven Murdock.”
