James Murty

James B Murty, 87, of Davenport, passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 after an extended illness, surrounded by his loving family. Visitation commemorating his life will be 3:00 p.m.to 6:00 p.m., Monday, September 23, 2019,  at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 Main St., downtown Davenport, followed by a brief service. At Jim's request he will be cremated after services.  A private gathering of family will be held at the Rock Island Arsenal the following day. A celebration of his life will be held at a future date.

James Byron Murty was born May 28, 1932 in Marshalltown, Iowa, the son of Albert and Gladys (Campbell) Murty.

After graduating from West High School in Waterloo in 1950, Jim spent a year in Washington, DC working with the FBI. He joined the Marine Corps in 1955 as a second lieutenant and was honorably discharged as a captain in 1960. Jim then began his career as an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry before becoming a Pizza Hut franchisee and later opening RJ Boar's bbq restaurant.

He married Nancy Hanneman in Waterloo, IA in 1963.  They were blessed with two wonderful children, Julie of Bloomington, MN and Ross of Davenport, IA. They were later blessed with two wonderful grandsons, J.B. and Chad Murty.

Jim spent his college years at Iowa State in Ames and was graduated in 1955 and remained a life-long Cyclones fan.  Both Jim and his wife Nancy attended all the sporting activities that their children Julie and Ross participated in as well as those of their grandsons.

One special highlight of Jim's 87 years was watching his beloved Chicago Cubs win the World Series in 2016. He was also a huge fan of the Minnesota Vikings.

Jim and Nancy were fortunate enough to travel together throughout the years. They have many wonderful memories of all the places they visited, with Aruba being a favorite for over twenty years.  They purchased a lake home in Lake of the Ozarks in 1991 that was truly Jim's Happy Place.

Jim is lovingly remembered and missed by his wife, his two children, and his two grandsons. He is also survived by a half brother Bob, (Bonnie) and a sister-in-law, Teresa Sterrett (Steve), two brothers-in-law, Warren Hanneman (Alberta) and Clay Hanneman (Delynn). He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother Gladys Parks and his father Albert Murty, his mother-in-law Georgia Hanneman and father-in-law Clayton Hanneman, sister-in-law Pam Harkness and her husband Bob, and a beloved nephew Scott Sterrett.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the nurses and staff at Genesis Hospice for their exceptional care and compassion and also to Jim’s many care givers over the past two years.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations to the Wounded Warrior Project or Kings Harvest Pet Rescue No-Kill Pet Shelter.