Honouring Ian Murray

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Ian Murray on Sunday, 2 October at Auckland Hospital after a year’s struggle with cancer. Ian was surrounded by his loving wife, Emma, and their four children.

Born in Lower Hutt in 1943, Ian graduated from the University of Auckland’s Department of Civil Engineering with a BE in 1967. He subsequently enjoyed an extensive career in the civil engineering field in New Zealand and abroad, working at the Ministry of Works and McConnell Dowell, as well as his own firms Robt Stone, Haden and Custance, and JLE.

The Faculty of Engineering wishes to express our sincere condolences to Ian’s family. We are especially appreciative of Ian and Emma’s support and contributions towards enriching the lives of our students, which they did not hesitate to demonstrate in both thoughts and actions.

In 2009, they launched the Ian & Emma Murray Engineering Scholarships to provide two $5,000 grants in perpetuity for Mechanical Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduate students. In 2014, they included the Ian & Emma Murray Doctoral Scholarship to their list of offerings.

Ian and Emma were additionally long-running, enthusiastic supporters of our Formula SAE team. The couple notably became patrons of the team, generously pledging their support all the way through to 2017.

Matt MacDougall, the Faculty of Engineering’s Development Manager, comments, “Ian was a remarkably generous man with a huge spirit and a big heart. He was very keen on supporting the students and did so in many different ways – whether it was through awards, business mentoring, or standing trackside cheering for our Formula SAE car. He was one of the team and he will be greatly missed.”

A service will be held to celebrate Ian’s life at the All Saints Chapel, Purewa Crematorium, St Johns Road, Meadowbank on Friday, 7 October at 3:30pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Auckland Cancer Society or Mercy Hospice Auckland.