William "Bill" James Murray III

William James “Bill” Murray III, 70, died Sunday. August 28th at his South Austin home with his family by his side. A proud life-long Texan and self-proclaimed comedian, he can now finally say he has spent his whole life in Texas.

Bill was born Monday, July 7th, 1952 in Austin, Texas to Jo and William James Murray, Junior. He was the youngest of four siblings and surrounded by love (most of the time) from his three older sisters.

He grew up on Lake Austin where he would spend his adolescent years attending Casis elementary, O. Henry middle school, and later Austin High. Surrounded by avid outdoorsmen in his immediate family, Bill grew fond of hunting, fishing, and love for flora and fauna.

Bill attended Southwest Texas in 1970, where he would meet the love of his life, Deborah on a blind date the day before their freshman year. As fate would have it, their paths crossed again in Austin Texas and he never let her out of his sight again.

Bill graduated from the University of Texas in 1975 with a BA in Science. He spent his career as a Medical Technologist and was a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists since 1977. After many years of clinical bench work at Seton Medical Center in Austin, he later transitioned to the business and industry side of laboratory medicine at Infolab, where he was a consistent top performer and known by his colleagues for his great stories and sense of humor.

His proudest professional accomplishment was appearing before the Texas State Senate Committee of Health and Human Services where he advocated for improved staffing and higher wages for the West Texas territory that he frequently visited.

Bill and Deborah had one child, William James Murray IV “Jamie” in 1988. Together the family created many memories at the beach and in the mountains of Colorado with their extended family, but his fondest memories were made watching his son travel the country on an elite baseball team and sharing his love of the game.

Bill is survived by his wife Deborah of 46 years, his son William James Murray IV, and sisters JoAnna Osterman, Janice Stoley and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father William Murray Junior, sister Marsha Wilson, and within the same week as himself, his mother, Jo Murray.

Bill will specifically be remembered for his sense of humor, fondness of classic rock, his ability to tell a great story, occasional inappropriate prank, love for the open road, curiosity for space and the ability to make meaningful connection with anyone who had the pleasure to come in contact with him.

Services will be officiated by Melinda Gillen, Magnolia Hospice Care Minister. The Murray family would like to thank the Magnolia Hospice Care staff, who took such good care of Bill in his final 2 years. The family would like to express their gratitude to the following Magnolia Hospice staff for their compassionate service: Sulema Saldana, MSW, Billy Goerdt, RN, Mike Oldstern, RN, Adrian Aguilar, Aide, Stephanie Quintailla, Aide, and Melinda Gillen, Minister. Services will be held Saturday, September 17th at 11 am at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home, 5416 Parkcrest Drive, Austin, Texas 78731. A small reception will follow.