Former Clark Resident Michael Murray Dies at 51

Murray's obituary as printed on the Walter J. Johnson funeral home website:

Michael J. Murray, 51, of Westfield, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, December 18, 2013.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to the Funeral from the Walter J. Johnson Funeral Home, 803 Raritan Rd., Clark, on Monday, December 23, at 9:00 am, thence to St. Helen's RC Church, Westfield, where a Funeral Mass will be offered at 10:00 am. Interment will follow in Fairview Cemetery, Westfield. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 2 - 6 pm. 

Michael was born in Queens, NY, and lived in Clark for eight years, before he moved to Westfield in 2002. He received his BA in Physical Education from Kean University, where he played baseball for four years and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1984. Later in life, Mike was a renowned Little League Coach for his sons, Michael and AJ, in Clark, and in Westfield for his stepson, George.

Michael was a Partner in East Coast Conditioning of Edison for the past 3 years and worked to build the baseball academy program, which he dearly loved. Prior to East Coast Conditioning, Michael served as President of the Union County Alliance and worked for several years as Communications Director for the County of Union.

Michael also had a distinguished career in the newspaper industry. When his minor league baseball career came to an end, Michael became a sportswriter for the The Daily Journal in Elizabeth. He worked his way up to become the newspaper's Sports Editor in 1988. He later was promoted to the job of Assistant Managing Editor for The Daily Journal. Michael then moved on to The Star-Ledger in the mid 1990's, where he thrived in his coverage of Union County sports.

Michael is survived by his beloved wife, Audrey (Kelly) Murray, his devoted children, Michael, Brittany, Andrew, George and John, all of Westfield, his loving parents, James and Katherine (Ruddy) Murray of Rahway, his dear sisters and brother, Mary Koch of Rahway, Catherine Murray of Rahway, JoAnne Iveson of Barnegat, Patricia Dulinski of Westfield and James Murray of NY and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Mike Murray, Sr. Memorial Scholarship Fund being established at 380 Willow Way, Clark, NJ 07066.