LEONARD GRAY

Look around Destrehan and you’ll see Paul Murray Jr.’s legacy everywhere – acres and acres of homeowners. From his first subdivision, Murrayhill Estates, Murray has worked hard through some tough financial times to make home ownership a reality for hundreds of St. Charles Parish residents. And it all started when a young college student decided to invest in open land, following the advice of his father. “They basically laughed at me,” Murray recalled of his first try at approaching loan officers so he could buy 20 acres for sale at $20,000. His attorney, Harold Buchler of Jefferson Parish, wisely suggested Murray sell shares in the venture to family members, and he said whatever couldn’t be sold his firm would buy the balance. With that demonstration of trust in Murray’s abilities, Murrayhill Estates was born. “I raised half the money from the family, and he bought the other half,” he said. “June got her real estate license and sold the lots.” Born in 1932, Murray is the son of Paul Sr. and Lizzie Donaldson Murray, who came to St. Charles Parish in 1930 when he got a job at Shell Oil Co. in Norco. They bought a house on Wesco Road and a slip of the pen wrote that the house’s owner was Paul Murray Jr., rather than senior. “Don’t worry about it,” his father said, and Paul Jr. was legally the owner of his parents’ house when still an infant. That’s not the only change. When Paul Sr. was a child and first attended school in Vacherie, his teacher told him he was “wrong” for spelling his name “Mury,” the original French spelling, and made it “Murray.” When Paul’s brother came along, the name was changed again, to “Murry.” The misspellings have remained to this day. Paul Jr., in fact, never realized his original name had been changed until he began genealogy work. Since then the family has been traced to the Bordeaux region of France. The way Murray really got into real estate development was from listening to his father during family automobile rides. “We would see lots, and he’d say he could’ve bought the lot and resold it for more money,” he recalled. The father never acted on those comments. But Paul Jr. never forgot. When he was a student at Tulane he met young high school junior June LeBlanc at a mutual friend’s party. They married in 1954 while Paul was still in school and after she graduated high school. Paul was quite busy in those days, attending Tulane in the day, working at Shell Oil in the summers and drawing house plans at night, as he pursued his architectural degree. He graduated in 1957 and established his own architectural business while continuing to pursue his land development ideas. Over the years that resulted in Ormond Oaks, Ormond Village, River Oaks, River Village, Ormond Place and Ormond Meadows. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. When the local economy was slammed by the early 1980s “oil crunch,” home building dwindled to practically nothing. At the same time the savings and loan crisis gave the financial world a severe body-blow, and “We had a tough time. I wondered if I’d be able to resume,” Murray said. However, it was work such as the Destrehan High School renovation after a fire, the post-Hurricane Betsy work on churches such as St. Peter in Reserve and St. Hubert’s in Garyville and Sacred Heart School in Norco, which helped sustain his business through the leaner years. Through it all, two local banks remained steadfast supporters, Bank of St. Charles (now First National Bank of St. Charles) and First American Bank. Another major asset to Murray is his eldest son, Paul Joseph “Joey” Murray III, who founded Murray and Associates engineering firm in the early 1990s. Today, Murray is working on developing River Village, while Joey (bitten with the same land development bug) is developing Cypress Cove. Joey is also developing the shopping area at Ormond Boulevard and Airline Drive, bringing in a new Eckerd and McDonald’s and a string of smaller businesses. “He took an option on the property if he could get it out of wetland status,” Murray remembered. “It cost more to fill the site than it cost to buy it.” Murray likes to tell the following story of what a driving force his son is. When his firm bid on the Destrehan High renovation work they were told the previous contractor on an earlier fire’s renovation took 18 months. Joey committed to nine months. When the school board asked how he would accomplish that, he pledged they would work shifts around the clock, and they made it on time. Murray will be 69 next year and has no plans to retire. And, after 46 years of marriage, the Murrays still love each other’s company, often taking trips to Central and South America. They return with hundreds of slides and re-live their vacations. The Murrays have five children, Lisa, Joey, Peter, Patrick and Amy, and 17 grandchildren. Partners in business and life, Paul and June Murray have helped establish much of present-day Destrehan, and they’re sticking around to enjoy it.