Murdock MacPherson Obituary (1921 - 2016)

Murdock D. MacPherson Born on June 15, 1921, the 2nd of four children of William R. MacPherson and Annie J. Ahern. He grew up on Haller Lake in North Seattle in a home built by his father, in 1918. The stories of the four siblings were endless and Murdock enjoyed sharing these at bedtime with his children. Their favorite stories were always about the family dog Flash, and the story of the siblings cutting down the neighbor's tree and dragging it home to their mother for Christmas. Another favorite was of brother Bill daring Murdock to jump off the roof with an umbrella to see if he could fly. He promptly broke his arm and begged his mother to sing him a lullaby. Bill also dared him to swim across Haller Lake in the Winter, he succeeded, but caught pneumonia and had a rib removed, leaving him with a hole in his back - which also led to many great stories over the years. He attended Haller Lake Elementary and then on to Lincoln High School. Shortly after he graduated from high school, he joined the Army and left for 4 years to serve in Europe. He wrote home daily to his mother and family, and his mother kept every letter and gave them to him years later in binders for each year. The year he spent in Paris was particularly memorable and responsible for hours of storytelling over the years. His favorite was how he acquired the nickname "Tres Correct Monsieur Mac!" In December 1945, Murdock attended his grandmother's Rosary Service. His grandmother was born in Charleston, County Mayo Ireland. At the rosary, he met the love of his life, Mary Ellen, who was attending her second cousins rosary with her mother. Two years later on November 21, 1947 they were married and before long came the births of their four children. Murdock and Mary Ellen moved into their family home in the Broadview area of Seattle in 1951 and he enjoyed it every day until his death 64 years later. Upon Murdock's return from the war, he joined his father's business, MacPherson Realty, which was founded by his father in 1932. After his father's death in 1949, Murdock and his older brother, Bill and younger brother, Tom along with their sister, Ann (Sis) Segale, assumed control of the company. Murdock's mother Annie was the bookkeeper and would work with her children until she was 94. Some of Murdock's long time employees were friends he met in the army. One army friend was Harry Kerley who he met in Europe and after the war moved to Seattle and worked for MacPherson's until he retired. Other good friends such as Bill Leopold and Joe Hartlove, and many others worked alongside Murdock for well over 30 years. Murdock and Bill, surrounded by friends and family, proceeded to build the largest residential real estate company in the region. He also opened an escrow office (University Escrow,) Tartan Mortgage, along with relocation and property management divisions. Murdock saw an opportunity in developing land, and in the early 1960's, he started a company, MacLand Inc., which became one of the largest land development companies in the state of Washington. This can be credited to the hiring of Rudy Podany, a land engineer who had recently escaped from Czechoslovakia. With Rudy's help Murdock developed thousands of lots including Queensgate and Kingsgate in the Kirkland area and Queensborough in Lynnwood. Murdock and his brother, Bill also opened many large recreational developments in the 1960's such as Ocean Shores, Crooked River Ranch in Oregon, Sandy Hook and Useless Bay on Whidbey Island. MacPherson's was known as a great place to work and Murdock was well respected among the people he worked with. It was well known that if someone got into trouble, he would always be there to help. He was a devoted Husky fan, never missing a game or a tailgate party. He was an avid fisherman making yearly trips with his lifelong friends, Maurice Vyvey, Roy Meister and Henry Reverman, to Bell Island in Alaska, the Babine and Campbell River in British Columbia. Henry Reverman, a great pilot and owner of Lake Union Air Service taught Murdock to fly and helped him buy his first seaplane. Together they took many fishing trips flying into Canadian lakes and rivers. Murdock became interested in horse racing in the early 60's and before long owned many horses and became a breeder. He could be found early every Saturday and Sunday mornings, at the track, often with his children in tow, watching his horses work out. One of his longtime friends and trainers was George McIvor, also a WWII veteran, and the two remained friends for over 65 years. McIvor along with Humphrey Roberts, Jim and Kay Penney, Bud Klokstad and Larry Pierce would become his main trainers. Among his initial runners was 11-race winner Breezy Banker. His first stakes winner was McIvor-trained Cup of Merc, who won the 1978 Seattle Invitational at Playfair for Murdock and partners Bill Leopold and Al Puetz. The trio also raced multiple Longacres stakes winner Native Lancer, another conditioned by McIvor. Murdock's Hassel Free - trained by Larry Pierce - won the 1991 Husky Handicap, but the horse Murdock is most associated with was his 12-time stakes winner and fan favorite, the 1994 Washington champion older horse Sneakin Jake, also trained by Larry Pierce. Sneakin Jake was a homebred son of Table Run who earned $439,590, of $245,870 was earned at Yakima Meadows, an all-time high for the Yakima track. He won three consecutive runnings of the Washington Championship. Sneakin Jake was the grandson of Mimi's First, who Murdock had purchased through the advice of Dr. Robert Penney and named after his daughter, Mimi. An active member of the Washington HBPA for many years, Murdock was a board member emeritus at the time of his passing. He was also the first recipient of the WHBPA/WTBOA Special Recognition Award in 2011. He was one of the original investors of Emerald downs and during their inaugural season, he instituted the annual "Irish Day at the Races" which celebrates Irish heritage. Murdock loved all things Irish and made many trips to Ireland with family and friends. He was a longtime member of the Irish Heritage Club and he and Mary Ellen were the Grand Marshals of Seattle's Irish Week in 1997. He was thrilled to be with the Irish heritage delegation in Ireland when Galway city and Seattle became sister cities. Most of all Murdock loved Irish music. He liked nothing better than listening to Paddy Reilly or the Clancy Brothers in the evening and sipping on Whiskey or singing along with friends and a band in an Irish pub. He could be heard belting out ballads till the end, especially his beloved, "The Hills of Anthenry." The most important thing in Murdock's life was being surrounded by family. He loved coming home to a houseful of kids and their friends, cocktail hour with neighbors, and good friends sitting around the table sharing Mary Ellen's gourmet dinner and a nice bottle of wine. As time went by grandchildren took the lead. "PA" loved taking them to the race track, teaching them to handicap the races but covering their losses of course! Weekends at Sandy Hook on Whidbey Island were special, showing them all the secrets spots for fishing, crabbing and clamming. When visiting his island paradise in Kihei, they all learned the tradition of blowing the conch shell at sunset. All the kids truly loved "Pa." Murdock was very proud to be turning 95. He had an incredible will to live but he also had many loving hands helping him along the way. His family would like to thank everyone who were part of these golden years; his long time neighbors who visited and always kept a watchful eye; his devoted friends for their chatty calls and visits and the medical community who kept him very well-tuned. Most of all we would like to thank all the caregivers over the years that spent their days and nights listening to his stories, singing along with him, dancing, playing cards and jumping to his every "beck and call." He loved all of you and was always very appreciative. Murdock was preceded in death by his loving wife of over 60 years, Mary Ellen. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Bill and Tom MacPherson; and his sister, Ann "Sis" Segale. He is survived by his children, Murry (Aggy), Bridget Landreth (Duncan), Kit MacPherson (Tom Halverson), and Mimi Myhre (Eric) along with Mud McHugh and Valerie O'Shea Dooley his "adopted" daughters; and his grandchildren, Molly, Keavy, Brydie, Erica, Garrett, Conor, Amelia, Joseph and his great-grandson Beau. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis. We'll never see the likes of him again. May his soul rest at God's right hand. Celebration of his life party to be announced this summer. Please feel free to sign the guest book, share stories and post pictures! Hoffner Fisher & Harvey To send a flower arrangement in memory of Murdock D. MacPherson, please click here to visit our sympathy store.