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Bill Murray Thanks His Aggie Family

Through Insurance Gift

To Bill Murray, Texas A&M was much more than a place to pursue an education. It was the home he never had.

Murray has few fond memories of his childhood. By the age of 3, both of his parents had died, leaving nine children in all. Sent to a Texas orphanage, he endured years of hard work and abuse.

By most standards, Murray's was not a promising future.

But the will and intelligence that often led to trouble in his youth served him well later in life. As Murray will tell you, he has met success at every turn.

Murray hopes the $1.3 million whole life policy he plans to give Texas A&M University can help students who, like him, might not otherwise be able to pay for college.

"If they didn't have any better chance than me, then I want to give them all the opportunities I can," Murray said.

Murray wanted to attend Texas A&M College after graduating from high school but couldn't afford the tuition. Instead, he used his experience in breaking horses to find a place in the US Army Cavalry.

Another skill took him up the Army's administrative ranks: typing. Murray took the class in high schcool as a way to meet girls. When he joined the Army, few other soldiers knew how to type.

By the time the United States entered World War II, Murray was a chief warrant officer based in Panama. He ended up fighting in Guadalcanal, Bougainville and New Guinea. It was in the jungles of the Phillippines, however, that he was critically injured. On a ship filled with maimed and dying soldiers, Murray met Charlie Fox. The two became fast friends. Murray announced that when he got back to the United States, he was going to college. Fox decided to join him.

Both veterans earned degrees at what was then John Tarleton College, then went on to Texas A&M for doctoral degrees in veterinary medicine.

Entering Texas A&M marked another turning point in Murray's life. Soon after enrolling, then-President Frank Bolton called Murray into his office.

"I understand you don't have a family," Bolton said. When Murray acknowledged that this was true, Bolton answered, "Well, you do now. This college is your family."

After graduation, Murray organized a veterinary laboratory in Springdale, Arkansas, becoming the first licensed veterinarian in the northwest region of the state. As he was getting his practice established, he stayed active in research and developed the Newcastle vaccine for the poultry industry. Relocating his practice to nearby Fayetteville, Murray built the state's first complete animal hospital, treating both large and small animals.

Murray's background made him particularly sympathetic to those living in the poverty-stricken hills of northwest Arkansas. He made house calls, treating animals and telling their owners he would send them a bill, although he never truly expected payment. When payment did come, it was often in the form of corn or chickens.

Administrators of Texas A&M's Veterinary School approached Murray to head its research department in the 1960s, but he wasn't ready to leave his practice.

Health problems forced him to sell his clinic in 1973, and he spent a couple of years working for the US Department of Agriculture. Since then, he has focused his attention on his investments. Murray's wife, Deloris, and a son died last year, but he remains close to his other children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Still, Murray will never forget the first real family he ever had. "A&M is my home," he said. "Here, you have an opportunity to be a success."

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