Watch the Presentation of the Fighting Heart Award to Vince Murray
Watch the Presentation of the Fighting Heart Award to Vince Murray
Vince Murray had a life altering traffic accident 20 years ago and was left paralyzed from the waist down but continued to write and produce basketball scholarships for young men and women to go to college through his coverage of high school basketball and the Marion County Kingdom of the Sun Tournament.
Vince gave thousands of hours of professionalism to all sports including our professional wrestling program here at the Funking Conservatory wrestling school.
Vince Murray always had a feeling for the young men and women who give so much of themselves to entertain us and thrill us with their hard work.
With deepest appreciation to Vince Murray and his family and to let the world know how much we miss him, our FIGHTING HEART AWARD goes to Mister Vince Murray.
Accepting the Fighting Heart Award for Vince is will be his beautiful wife and soul mate, Jimmy Sue and his grand-daughters, Ashley and Maddie.
Vince Murray will also receive professional wrestling's traditional Ten Bell Salute.
VINCE MURRAY--- April 1st 2008 6pm
Story by Marti Funk
The phone was ringing and I could not find it, looking all over the house, I
found it in the back bedroom and missed the call.
I played voice mail and heard Jimmie Sue’s voice telling us to call her back, it
was important. Dory walked out of the shower and I told him Jimmie Sue called
and I had a bad feeling about this….. Dory said, “call her, we need to know now”
and I did….
With that call the most important person in Vince’s life, Jimmie Sue, and with
as much composure as sadness she told me Vince had left us about a ½ hour
before…..
In 1987 Dory and I moved from North Carolina to the river in Dunnellon, Florida.
We received a call from the sports department Editor, Vince Murray, to do a
story on Dory living in the area and his career. That was our first meeting with
Vince Murray, a tough , smart go getter of a guy, who pushed for every ounce of
life, out of every day….
Dory and Vince became instant and fast friends, while my relationship with Vince
took some time to come about. We had met Jimmie Sue on a couple occasion but our
relationship into life time friends with them began after the car crash that so
dramatically affected Vince’s life and his family..
Before the crash Vince was like the rest of us, taking each day and going for
every thing we can…
After the crash his life changed. A man with no patience had to achieve patience
for himself and in doing so found the way to give more of himself in courage and
friendship to others than he could have imagined ………
We had the pleasure and fun of spending many holidays and birthdays and
anniversaries together. Many favorite places here in town to eat and talk had
become the most fun and enjoyable days,. Ashley, his granddaughter and the 2nd
most important person to Vince, was maybe 2 almost 3 years old when we met her.
Vince treasured the family he and Jimmie Sue had.
Meeting together for Holidays or just because we were hungry and wanted to
visit, year after year, we met for lunch and talked about what we were buying
our spouses, parents, kids, grandkids for birthdays or holidays…. And shared our
experiences with helping our aging parents and gossip with each other about all
the daily life situations friends share with each other ….
I remember when Jimmie Sue’s Mom died, it was the first time we all realized how
much we all were in for….then Christmas 1997 we made plans to meet at the Hilton
and take our parents with us, my parents, John and Betty McKinley, Vince’s
parents Lawrence and Betty Murray, friends and the 4 of us.
I will never forget a moment of conversation with Vince, that day I was
exceptionally happy with family and business life and felt extreme optimism that
day for all our futures……
And Vince looked at me and said, “This day will never happen again. I wanted
this day to be special, thank you for being with all of us today, a once in a
lifetime day.”
this left me with a knowing of impending tragedy…….
Then we lost Lawrence, a few years later, my Dad and then Vince’s Betty and then
my Betty………and Then Jimmie Sue’s call last Monday……..at 6pm……….a half hour after
Vince had called it a copy………..
I think Vince’s enduring story, column, article, book and page to his life
was….. To make his friendship was special and never to take lightly…….. The
happiness of his family was the most important accomplishment to him. Jimmie Sue
was the strength and oxygen to his soul, his beauty and deepest spiritual side
came from Jimmie Sue, his loving gentle care and excellence on demand to all for
Ashley’s care, his pride with her accomplishments, in school and athletics, and
her ability to give him the most precious gift in the last years of his life,
Madison…………
Madison you have the legacy of love and family, you have a Mother who loves you,
a great-grandmother who loves you, you have grandparents, Jamie and Stacy who
love you, and you have a Guardian Angel who will always believe you are the next
“Bonehead”. Madison you are the blessing and beginning of all that Vince wanted
to accomplish,
Vince, Go in Love and Peace, we miss you………….
Marti Funk