Funeral of Douglas (Doug) D. Murray

Funeral of Douglas (Doug) D. Murray

January 5, 2026

Dear Ruth, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, grace, mercy, and peace be unto you this day.

Shortly after arriving here at Good Shepherd, Doug and Ruth called up the church one day to see if I would be interested in a children’s table and chairs for my kids to use. Having a need, I said, “Sure!”

So, the two of them loaded up the table and chairs, got in the car, and made their way through Tomah to the church. Once they arrived, Ruth came in and made small talk with Deb, the secretary, while Doug and I went out to move the table and chairs from their vehicle to the back of my own.

As I closed the back end of my vehicle, I had naively thought that was it, and the two of us would head back into the church so he could fetch Ruth.

I was wrong.

What followed was Doug holding court and sharing his life story with me. How he grew up around Kendall, married Yvonne, and how the two of them lived on the farm in Kendall before moving to Tomah. Oh, how he loved that farm.

He also talked about his wife, Yvonne, dying after 51 years of marriage and the heartbreak that followed.

Then Doug reconnected with Ruth from his younger years and recounted how she had been a Godsend to him. One thing I remember Doug saying is that when he married Ruth, they were attending different churches, but as he said, “A husband and wife should be in church together.” So, they were—each Sunday, sitting side by side, worshiping, praying, and learning the story of Jesus.

But more on this last part in a bit…

You see, what I learned that day in the parking lot was that Doug was a storyteller.

When Doug was going to tell you something, it was going to be done in the context of a story.

There was a story about which restaurants in town you should go to, why John Deere tractors were the best, and why the Packers would beat my Vikings.

There was even a story in these latter months as he lay in a hospital bed about how one of his doctors was eyeballing his cowboy boots.

Doug loved to tell stories.

But if you listened closely to his words, his stories weren’t always filled with joy or a joke. There was the heartbreak of Yvonne’s death. Not having children of his own, he relied greatly on his nephews. Being diagnosed with cancer, he experienced times of grief and frustration, too. 

In a way, Doug’s story is our story, your story, too.

It’s a story of love, heartache, and unavoidable changes in life.

But Doug’s life, you see, was really a small story in the telling of a greater, grander story.

Take a moment to step back and reflect on today’s readings from Holy Scripture.

In the first reading you have Job saying,

            Oh that my words were written!

                        Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

            Oh that with an iron pen and lead

                        they were engraved in the rock forever!

            For I know that my Redeemer lives,

                        and at the last he will stand upon the earth. (Job 19:23-25)

Well, what is the purpose of writing and inscribing words within a book?

To recount something that happened, to tell a story, and what is the story Job confesses and wants known?

That his redeemer lives and on the last day, He will raise Job from the dead, that He might stand with Jesus forever.

In the second reading, St. Paul says that he doesn’t want the brothers to be misinformed, so he writes,

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:15)

St. Paul doesn’t want the brothers to be uninformed, so he gave them a “Word,” which, as some translations might render it, is a teaching and continuation of the story of Christ.

And finally, in the third and final reading, Jesus said,

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me… and they will listen to my voice. (John 10:14, 16)

Here, Jesus says, the sheep will recognize His voice, or in other words, they will know My Word, and within this Word, the story of My life is contained, because in Me, My life is the life of My sheep. 

Ponder this, if the sheep hear the voice of Jesus, they hear His Word and receive His life.

In fact, all of Scripture is a retelling of God’s Word and the most incredible story ever told…

From the beginning of Genesis and the fall into sin, all the way to the final Amen of the book of Revelation, the words within tell how Jesus will come as a babe in Bethlehem, die on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world, rise from the dead on that first Easter morning, ascend in triumph at His Ascension to the right hand of His Father, and return again to gather His faithful children into His eternal presence. 

And this was the story Doug was brought into, not only on the day of his baptism as a baby many years ago, but every time he walked past the font at the entrance of the sanctuary.  

It’s truly remarkable that each week, as Doug gathered here in this sanctuary with Ruth and all his brothers and sisters in Christ, he took part in the story of Christ. He walked past the font, confessed his sins, and asked God for forgiveness. In fact, Doug joined the angels in singing the Gloria in Excelsis at Christmas, and he traveled through Holy Week by singing the Sanctus before hearing the Words of Institution from the night of Jesus’ betrayal, just before approaching this altar to receive the blessings of Christ’s cross in the Lord’s Supper. 

Being a Lutheran is pretty cool, I’m not going to lie, because every week we, like Doug, don’t only hear the story of Jesus, but become real-life participants as the Good Shepherd speaks to us through His Word and leads us to His nearer presence.

In fact, this is the whole purpose of gathering in the house of the Lord: to be prepared, as Doug, to be brought into the eternal presence of God.

As we depart today and journey to the grave, don’t leave the story of Doug’s life here, but take it with you, because it’s the story of Jesus Christ, who claimed Doug in the font of Holy Baptism and redeemed him through His death and resurrection.

Keep this story close to your heart and go in confidence because, like Doug, you have heard the Word of the Good Shepherd and you know without a doubt, “your Redeemer lives!” +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI