John Wolcott Murray was born in 1909 to Harris King Murray and Arabella Prime Murray of Flushing, New York. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Colgate University in 1930, Murray received his Ph. D in Chemistry from John Hopkins University in 1933. In 1939, Murray wed Ruth Terborgh. The union produced two children: John Harris Murray and Beulah Mae M. Fincham.

Murray taught chemistry at Virginia Tech from 1942 to 1971 and was promoted to full professor in 1954. In addition to his knowledge of chemistry, Murray was an ardent lover of birds. Murray published many articles and a yearly inventory, "A Checklist of the Birds of Montgomery County, Virginia," in the Journal of the Virginia Society of Ornithology, The Raven, while also participating in local Christmas Bird counts. In 1994, Murray furthered his ornithological studies by logging 55 new species of birds during a trip to the Amazon Rain Forest.

Following the loss of his first wife after 51 years of marriage, Murray married Nancy Slocum whom he met at the age of 85. While living at Warm Hearth Community, Murray continued to study nature and was named "Volunteer of the Year" in 1994 for his services in the creation and maintenance of a trail system at the community. John Murray died on August 19, 2002.