Charles W. Murray, a founding partner of the former Drake & Co., died Nov. 15 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He was 84.
Mr. Murray began his career in 1948 as a trainee at Mabon & Co. In 1952, he joined Clifford Drake and Kenneth Petroski in forming a new municipal bond brokerage firm, Drake & Co. Mr. Murray has been acknowledged as the innovator of municipal dollar-bond trading.
Kenneth Pforr, now a municipal bond evaluator at Thomson Reuters who Mr. Murray hired into the business in 1973, recalled that the New York City Corporate Stock 3s of 1980 were the first bonds Mr. Murray traded as dollar bonds.
The firm, later knows as Clifford Drake and Co., went on to become Wall Street’s premier dollar-bond brokerage company.
Pforr called Mr. Murray “a terrific teacher.”
“When the desk went from eight to 50, he took great pains to make sure that every young guy that came into the business was trained properly,” Pforr said.
Mr. Murray retired in 1990 after 41 years in the municipal bond business.
Mr. Murray served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Central Europe, according to family members. As a member of the 398th infantry division, he received the Bronze Star Medal for bravery under fire in Heilbronn, Germany, they said.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Marge Murray, seven children and stepchildren, and eight grandchildren.
A memorial Mass is scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Ponte Vedra Beach.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests support in the form of donations to the McGraw Community Hospice Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
