James Robert Murray
Lakeside resident James Robert Murray died on Friday, December 1, 2017 at the age of 69.
Born in Morganton (Burke County), North Carolina, Murray graduated from Morganton High School and served in the Air National Guard Reserves.
Murray was a gifted engineer and craftsman. He made lots of hand-crafted pieces for his family and friends and loved a good puzzle challenge and a good debate.
Murray liked animals and owned many over the years. He lived in the Atlanta area most of his working life and ran his own businesses for many years. He semi-retired to the Albuquerque area and finally settled in the Lake Chapala area for the last ten years of his life.
Although he endured health issues, Murray was happy, living life on his own terms and remaining active to the end. He was a friend to all and always ready to give a hand to friends and family. He will be greatly missed.
Murray was preceded in death by his father, Ned P. Murray, and mother, Dorothy Mooney Murray. He is survived by daughter Tish Murray (Ryan) of Stone Mountain, Georgia, and sister Susan McClure (Mike) of Marion, N.C. He has one niece, Kristen Thien (Scott) and nephew Dustin McClure (Savannah) of Marion, N.C., as well as a great nephew and two great nieces, plus several cousins and special aunts.
A memorial service will be planned for a later date by the family.
Bruce Brodsky
Bruce Brodsky died in Harker Heights, Texas on February 17 at the age of 74 after a brief illness.
Brodsky was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 31, 1943. An entrepreneur at the early age of 12, Bruce became involved in a stamp club at the local YMCA in his neighborhood. Along with two other friends, he started a business selling stamps to collectors. The business was so successful that the profits from selling it paid for the boys’ first two years of college.
Bruce attended University of Akron where he majored in speech education. However, rather than becoming a teacher he went to work for a building materials warehouse, where the salaries were superior. He did this on and off for 30 years.
Bruce was a lifetime supporter and advocate for scouting. He was a Scoutmaster for more than 30 years and served on the National Jewish Committee for Scouting.
He moved several times for work. From Cleveland he moved to Chicago, then on to Syracuse, and from there to Dallas and finally to Austin, where he met and married his second wife Linda Sherman in 2003.
Linda and Bruce moved to Lakeside in 2009. Bruce served on the Audit & Advisory Committee of the Lake Chapala Society and as Treasurer and member of the Steering Committee of Chavurah Chapala. Until recently, they lived in San Antonio Tlayacapan. Bruce had just moved into a nursing facility in Harker Heights, Texas when he became ill.
Bruce was known for his unwavering optimism for life in spite of several serious physical setbacks, and for living his life by the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference – and to take life one day at a time.”
Survivors include son Sidney of Phoenix and son Ed and daughter Sarah of Ohio. He had five grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 25 in San Antonio. For more information, call Emily Perey at (376) 765-7455.