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Additional
Information
Whenever additional information is found on those who went west
on the harvest train, it will be posted below.
The following obituary was posted
to the Guysborough Mailing List by Doug Sinnis. He has kindly permitted
me to post it here. John Robert Murray made several trips on the
harvest trains.
MURRAY, John Robert: November 11, 1999, Halifax Herald (Obit #999):
MURRAY, John Robert - 92, River John, passed away after a brief
illness, on December 9, 1999, in Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital,
Tatamagouche. He was a son of the late Robert and Elizabeth (Murray)
Murray. In the 1920s, he made several trips west on the harvest trains
and spent some time in Trail, B.C. In 1928, he returned to River John,
where he married, worked in the woods and fished. In 1935, he moved his
family to Sudbury, Ont., where he worked in the nickel mines until
1941, when he enlisted in the RCNVR. He did convoy duty in the Atlantic
and then served on the HMCS Uganda in the Pacific. He attained the rank
of petty officer. In 1945, he rejoined his family in River John and for
the next 30 years, was a popular and active member of the community. He
was an original member of the River John Fire Department, served on the
original board of directors for the Co-op, was an executive member of
the Credit Union and very active in Royal Canadian Legion Branch 108.
His last years were spent happily at home with his wife, enjoying the
view of River John from the kitchen window and visiting with family and
friends. Surviving are his wife of 70 years, the former Hilda Heighton;
son, John, River John; daughters, Patricia Smith, Geraldine Hanson;
sister, Mary Brooks, all of St. Catharines, Ont.; brother, Harry,
Vancouver; 12 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; many nieces and
nephews. He will be especially missed by his granddaughter, Victoria;
and great-grandchildren, Darlo and Amber. He was predeceased by an
infant daughter; brothers, Herbert and Wilbur; sisters, Jean Cameron
and Isabelle White. Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will
be held Monday, December 13, at 2 p.m. in St. George's Presbyterian
Church, River John, Rev. Jeanette Fleisher officiating, assisted by
Rev. Donald Sutherland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to
the River John Remembrance Garden or a charity of choice. Arrangements
entrusted to MacLeod's Funeral Home, River John. (Posted to
Guysborough List by Doug Sinnis)