About the Author:
Dr. Emmett Murray, known as Duke to friends and family, practiced family medicine in Lima, Ohio from 1953 till 1995, when he retired. He and his wife, Polly, then moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to the Woodlands, a residential area in the Shell Point Village retirement community. He was born at home on Hazel Avenue in Lima in 1925 to Faye and Emmett Murray, the youngest of four children. His father was a construction foreman and carpenter and his mother, a former candy-maker and an excellent cook, was full-time at home. Both had been raised on farms and enjoyed Duke's pursuit of adventure as he helped with chores on his aunt and uncle's farm. Duke Murray developed an interest in hunting and sporting dogs and found success in dog shows with his prize beagle, Ace. He worked at many jobs while growing up and thought he would continue working after high school. However his brother, Marvin, and his neighbor, Ruth Creviston, insisted that he attend college. Because of his experiences on the farm and with his dogs, he decided to become a veterinarian. This plan was disrupted when, after less than a year in college as an ROTC freshman, he was called into active military duty in 1944. He was trained by the Army as an X-ray technician and then sent to France where he worked in several Army hospitals during his two-and-a-half-year tour of duty. During this time, a chance remark by an Army doctor changed his destiny. The doctor, hearing about Duke's plans for vet school, said, "Why don't you try medicine?" and told him he thought he'd be good at it. After the war, Duke Murray changed his Ohio State major to pre-med, and the die was cast. During medical school he continued to employ his X-ray skills as a part-time technician, and he met someone else on the job who had been taught to take X-rays, a medical secretary from Columbus named Pauline List. They share a sense of humor, among many other things, and in 1949 were married in a double-ceremony with Pauline's twin sister, Kathleen, who married Daniel Susil. Duke and Polly had their first son, Scott, in 1952, who later also completed pre-med at Ohio State and went on not only to become a physician, but also to marry one (Dr. Nancy Winters) as well. After Duke's graduation in Columbus, he and Polly moved to his home town of Lima and he completed his internship at St. Rita's hospital. The couple had three more children: Robin (Robb), Cynthia Ann (Cindy) and Betsy. Dr. Murray began his office practice with Drs. Bill Grannis and Bill Foxx, then added Ken Burns, and later practiced in partnership with Dr. Gene Wright. To supplement his office practice, Dr. Murray worked part time at BLH (formerly the Lima Locomotive Works) as the plant doctor from 1954-1979 (25 years) and later continued his involvement with occupational medicine in helping Dr. A. C. Reed to set up a plant clinic at Crown Control in New Bremen, Ohio in the early 1990s. Dr. and Mrs. Murray were supporters of many Lima cultural and professional organizations such as the Cotillion Club, and Lima Symphony, Encore Theatre, the Lima Elks Lodge, and the Auxiliary of the Lima Medical Academy. Pauline (Polly) was active in the Lotus Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Red Cross. Dr. Murray served for a time on the Consistory of Calvary UCC, and he was elected to the Lima City Board of Education in 1962 and served as President from 1965-1970. He was Chief of Staff at Lima Memorial Hospital for a two-year term during the 1980s. Dr. Murray's boyhood hobbies of hunting and dog shows were replaced by fishing, handball, tennis and, much later, gardening. He has remained an inveterate storyteller, humorist, and something of a mimic as well. Both Dr. and Mrs. Murray are devoted readers, and each reads aloud to the other quite often. In Ft. Myers, they enjoy attending the Southwest Florida Symphony programs and numerous other plays.
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