Dr Murray Allen Peglar, 1941–2018

Murray put up a strong fight against Parkinson disease, but passed away on 3 April 2018.

He is survived by his wife, Juanita; his sons, Bruce (Michael) and Murray (Cory); stepson, Scott Napier (Lenora); and his seven grandchildren, Kate, Emma, Charlotte, Ben, Malcolm, Ashley, and Ryan. He is also survived by his sisters, Ann (George) Rodger and Barbara (Ron) Hasan; his nephews, Peter and David (Melanie) Rodger; and niece, Adrienne (Adrian) Cristini. Murray was predeceased by his father, Rev Bruce Peglar, and mother, Ethel Peglar.

Born in Mount Forest, Ontario, to a naval chaplain, Murray grew up on both the east and west coasts of Canada. He attended Glenlyon Preparatory School in Victoria, BC, where he excelled at sports and studies, winning a 5-year scholarship to Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was accepted after graduation to pre-med at the University of Toronto. In Halifax, he worked in the pathology lab at the Victoria General Hospital, and completed his BSc and BA degrees while awaiting acceptance to Dalhousie Medical School. He was president of the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity and compared his time in the fraternity to Animal House, starring John Belushi. Murray would roar with laughter each time he watched it because it reminded him so much of his own fraternity days.

Murray always followed his heart. He loved music, played guitar, and sang. He formed a bluegrass group and would drive to Peggy’s Cove in his sports car or on a motorcycle to play with local bands. He fished, hunted, and scuba-dived. He embraced many adventures and misadventures while working toward his goal of becoming a doctor.

After graduating from med school in 1969, Murray drove across Canada to work in Vancouver with the World Health Organization. He discovered Langley and decided that was where he would hang his hat and shingle. He was well respected for his 31 years of practice and privileges at the Langley Memorial Hospital. He reluctantly retired in 2001, 6 years after his diagnosis of Parkinson disease. He would always talk about how much he missed medicine.

Murray loved the romantic, Wild West cowboy history of BC. He often said that he must have been a cowboy in a previous life. He enjoyed spending time outdoors, hunting and fishing with friends, watching the local Langley Rugby boys play, and meeting with “table 1” at the Murrayville Pub for Monday Night Football. He was involved with Ducks Unlimited, the BC and Canadian Wildlife Federations, and the Steelhead Society of BC.

His favorite place was his cabin at Gun Lake, where he would work hard on his property, ride his quad up and down the mountains with the Gun Lake gang, or sit on the dock with a beer in hand, dog by his side, and simply enjoy the beauty of nature. He loved his old tugboat trips in the Gulf Islands, motorcycle trips across Canada and the US, and winter vacations in Mexico, but the lake was his place.

Murray was a strong, take-charge, go-for-it kind of man. Undoubtedly, he could be stubborn at times. We will miss him and his “Murray-way” of doing things.
—Murray Peglar
Calgary, AB