Person Page 3,729

Obituary (findagrave.com):

Matt B. Murfree III of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, died on the 5th day of November, 2014.

Visitation will take place with the family at his residence at 730 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Sunday, November 9, 2014 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. A Memorial service will be conducted at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Monday, November 10, 2014 at 2 p.m. The burial will be private at Evergreen Cemetery.

He was the son of the late Dr. Matt B. Murfree, Jr. and Mary Kathryn Bell Murfree. He is survived by his wife, Katherine Davis Murfree; sons, Matt B. "Bricke" Murfree IV (Sarah), Paul Davis Murfree (Blaire); grandchildren, Blakley Neal Murfree, Kathryn Blythe Murfree, Ellen Tomlinson Murfree; and brother, Robert Bell Murfree (Betsy).

He was descended from many of the older families of Rutherford County, Tennessee through both his mother and father. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Col. Hardy Murfree, for whom Murfreesboro was named, and Col. Charles Ready, for whom the community of Readyville was named. He was also the great-great nephew of Sam Davis, the Boy Hero of the Confederacy, as well as a descendant of three former mayors of Murfreesboro.

Matt was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on August 25, 1944. He graduated from Central High School and received his BA '66 and JD '69 degrees from Vanderbilt University. Matt practiced law in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for over forty years, and was the senior partner in Murfree & Murfree, PLLC. He was involved as an attorney in many of the local industrial, commercial and residential developments. He served for sometime as a County Commissioner for Rutherford County, Tennessee. While serving as County Commissioner, he was chairman of the Health, Education and Welfare Committee and was instrumental in establishing the Rutherford County Ambulance Service. He also served for a period of time as Chairman of the Rutherford County Commission, and due to the illness of the then County Executive, he became County Executive. He was also a member of the committee that negotiated with the Nissan Manufacturing Company that led to the location of the Nissan manufacturing plant in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

Matt was very active in many civic activities in the Murfreesboro and Rutherford County communities. He served on the Board of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and, also, served as its President. He was on the Board of the current St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital, formerly Middle Tennessee Medical Center and Rutherford Hospital, for over thirty years, and served as Chairman of the Board at the time the land for the new Medical Center was acquired and the hospital was built. He served on the board of the St. Thomas Health Care Services. While Matt was a member of the Rutherford Hospital Board, at the Board's request, he represented the Board in successfully negotiating the sale of Rutherford Hospital to the Baptist/St. Thomas Systems, the proceeds of which were used for the establishment of The Christy-Houston Foundation. He did the legal work to establish The Christy-Houston Foundation, was a founding director and served as its President. The Foundation, as of the time of his death, has provided over $95,000,000 in charitable grants in the Middle Tennessee area. Shortly after he started practicing law, he became a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the old Murfreesboro Bank & Trust Company, Rutherford County's largest banking institution, and served in that position for many years. He was also involved as an organizing director of MidSouth Bank, on whose Board and Executive Committee he served.

Matt was named Business Legend of the Year in 2002 by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. He was honored by the Nashville Business Journal as a Rutherford County Impact Award winner in 2013.

For many years, he enjoyed traveling with his wife and visited many countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Orient, Africa, and the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. He loved gatherings and travel with his children and grandchildren as well. He was an avid gardener and through the years, raised orchids, gardenias, roses, and vegetables, both at his home in Murfreesboro and homes in Monteagle. In the mountains, he was particularly interested in the cultivation of azaleas, rhododendrons, mountain laurels and varieties of ferns and evergreen trees indigenous to the mountain.

He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Stones River Country Club, Belle Meade Country Club, Sons of the American Revolution, and The Society of the Cincinnati.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Don Alexander, Jimmy Allen, Jim Arnhart, the Honorable Don Ash, Tommy Bragg, The Honorable Larry Brandon, Mayor Ernest Burgess, Dr. Henry King Butler, Larry Castelli, Dallas Caudle, Gerald Coggin, Kent Coleman, the Honorable Robert Corlew, Dave Davis, Percy Dempsey, Jr., Ed Elam, Gordon Ferguson, Mark Follis, Dr. Charles Goodman, Theodore W. Goodman, Harry Haines, David Hall, John Harney, Larry Haynes, Terry Haynes, Rollie Holden, Tommy Hord, W. Henry Huddleston III, Bill Hunter, Bill Jones, Ransom Jones, Dr. Michael Jordan, William L. Ledbetter, Jr., Dr. George Lien, S. Wayne Lewis, Ed Loughry, Jr., Phillip S. Loyd, John Marschel, Cleo Martin, Hubert McCullough, the Honorable Ben Hall McFarlin, Edward E. Miller, Newton Ford Molloy III, Lee Moss, Danny O'Brien, Elgin Oliver, Jr., Bob Parks, Myers Parsons, Richard Reeves, Jim Rich Roberts, the Honorable Mark Rogers, Thomas E. Smith, the Honorable Royce Taylor, J. Paul Vaughan, David Waldron, Greg Waldron, Jack Weatherford, George White, Herbert Young of Murfreesboro, Melville Barnes, Jr., Dr. Michael Bottomy, Hank Brockman, William L. Brooks, Wentworth Caldwell, Marion Hickerson, Granberry Jackson, Franklin Jarman, Blake McMeans, Alex Palmer, Robert Paige Thomas of Nashville, Brian Smith of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Andrew Donelson Creighton of Columbia, Tennessee, Dr. Charles Wikle of Tupelo, Mississippi, the Honorable Bart Gordon and Jim Free of Washington, DC, Jimmy Kaminer of Atlanta, Georgia, Hugh Hunter Byrd of Charleston, Missouri, Carlton R. Asher and Steve Gilhuley of New York City.