Let me introduce Gregory R. McMurray, the most vociferous of scientists, the oceanographer who could craft a homemade beer and hacky sack his way through life. Born September 27, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland, Greg passed away on November 12, 2025, in Portland, Oregon, of heart failure. He may have waxed poetic about Gorda Ridge, his epochs of road biking and his consummate love of the environment, but he always oscillated back to family, instigating backpacking trips and crawdadding adventures. The merge of his strumming guitar and vocals were well known at Slow Jam. His philosophical devotion to the gentle way of judo with his 5th degree black belt from Ojukan Judo Club showed a resilience not found in many. He cross-country skied nearly to the top of Mt Hood, built a leviathan slingshot out of the volleyball net and created a replica of his ship being boarded by Greenpeace out of Legos for his kids.
Greg and his older brother grew up in Ohio creating mischief for his parents and spending portions of many summers visiting his dad's family farm in West Virginia. Greg graduated from Berea High School in 1965 and went on to Ohio University. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity graduated from OU and after completing his master’s at University of Akron he earned a doctorate at Oregon State University in oceanography. He worked with VTN Environmental Sciences in Alaska’s Misty Fjords, The Dept of Geology and Mineral Industries, Oregon’s DEQ, and the Department of Land Conservation and Development. Greg participated in Pacific Ocean research, including service aboard the NOAA research vessel Discoverer off the Oregon coast in 1990. Greg played a key role in the state's ocean resources planning and management programs. He coordinated the Gorda Ridge Technical Task Force (1984-1987), advised the Oregon Ocean Resources Management Task Force in developing the state's first Ocean Resources Management Plan (1987-1991), and led a research cruise investigating placer minerals off the southern Oregon coast. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 brought him back to the fjords to work for Exxon in the massive cleanup effort. From 1995 to 2003, Greg directed the Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems Regional Study (PNCERS) at Oregon’s DEQ, co-editing the landmark publication Change in Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems. At DLCD (2003-2009), he was Ocean Program Coordinator for the Oregon Coastal Management Program, managing the Ocean Policy Advisory Council and addressing critical issues including marine reserves, submarine cables, and ocean wave energy facilities.
Greg may have retired from state service in 2009, but his passion for the environment continued. He became a consultant for PEVentures and pursued the development of wave energy on Oregon’s coast. He volunteered for Lake Oswego’s Watershed Council. An early proponent of renewable energy, he purchased solar panels in 2008, and a Tesla Roadster (#504) in 2010. He enjoyed listening to his favorite peepers, pseudacris regilla, in his own wetlands backyard and took up birding by participating in tally counts. His lifelong love of rich food led him to try complex culinary adventures from his Uncle Karl's recipe book, sharing them with all. No box was built to hold Greg; rather he built trapezoids and spheres wherever he went. He was a catalyst with a great sense of humour and his fellow coworkers and friends will miss him and his pranks. He is grieved by his wife of 43 years, Mary Turnock, his daughter Lela McMurray, and his son Russell McMurray, all living in Lake Oswego, and his brother, James McMurray, residing in Georgia.
Anyone wishing to honor Greg’s contributions and love of coastal environments may make donations to his favorite coastal program, Elakha Alliance. The family is planning a gathering to honor Greg in the spring. All Hail Dr. McMurray!
