09/19/2026
Our Alumni Spotlight this week is a father and son duo, Dr. Hal Murray '59 and Dr. Mike Murray '89. Gayle Simpson Garrison '94 caught up with Hal and Mike in Nashville recently along with Whitney Earhart '92 who will be our Alumni Spotlight soon!
Hal graduated from St. Johns in 1959. He was on the Varsity Swim team at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated from in 1963. He went on to dental school at Penn graduating in 1967 with Cryer Society and Omicron Kappa Upsilon honors. Hal served in the US Navy for 2 years and then went to SUNY Buffalo for Orthodontics. He had a private practice in Jacksonville for 29 years and served one year as the President of the Jacksonville Dental Society. He has been married to his wife, June, for 59 years. They have two sons, Michael, an Endodontist, and Mark, a business owner. In 2023, they moved to Brentwood, TN to be close to their children and grandchildren. His favorite St. John's memory is playing on the baseball team.
The apple did fall far from the tree with Dr. Mike Murray who also played baseball at St. Johns and says his favorite St. John's memory is winning the 1989 baseball district championship. As he puts it, “Coach Hilliard willed us to victory!” After graduating from St. Johns in 1989, he earned his B.S. in Zoology with Honors from the University of Florida, followed by his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree with High Honors from the University of Florida College of Dentistry. He then served as a general dentist in the United States Navy like his dad from before completing his endodontic residency. Since 2003, Mike has practiced at Endodontic Associates of Nashville. Outside of his professional life, Mike is married and is the proud father of three daughters, who attend a school much like St. Johns — making the St. Johns experience one he now gets to appreciate from a parent’s perspective as well.
We’re proud to celebrate both father and son and the many accomplishments they have achieved since their St. Johns days. Once a Spartan, always a Spartan!
