Clyde and Janet McMurray

Clyde McMurray was born in Fort Worth, TX on December 7, 1938 and passed away in Bowie, TX on February 6,2016. He dedicated his life as a teacher/coach/administrator for 37 years, and this is a small token to honor him by bestowing a scholarship in his name to a Bowie High School senior. Clyde was raised in Decatur, TX attending the Decatur schools until he graduated from Decatur High School in 1957. He later graduated with a BS from Texas Christian University in 1961-2, and after a stent in the US Army, he earned his M.Ed in Administration from the University of North Texas in 1965.

He met Janet Gough at TCU and they married in College Park, Maryland on July 22, 1961, and moved to Texas. Together they taught in towns from south Texas to the panhandle and in between, and they both retired from Bowie in 1998. Clyde and Janet have two children: Tom born October 16, 1965 in Alice, TX and Susan born September 26, t967 in Sherman, TX. And between them are 5 grandchildren.

After spending many years coaching/teaching history, math, science & P.E. in the Texas towns of Alice, Killeen, Whitewright, Memphis, and Dalhart, Clyde and his family moved to Bowie, TX in 1980. Clyde had a lot of success as a Head coach/Athletic Director in Whitewright, Memphis, and Dalhart winning district championships in all three high schools and he helped the Bowie Jackrabbits win two district championships. ln Memphis his football team reached the Quarter Finals in 1974 for the l.‘t time, and as Athletic Director in 1976-77 all of the team sports – boys and girls – won district championships (when only one team went to the playoffs), and some went on to State: football, basketball, track, golf, and tennis. Clyde’s record as a head coach in football was 87 wins, 39 losses, 2 ties, 6 district championships, 2 bi-district, 1 regional. Memphis won the state track meet in 1975. As the golf coach his team went to State 4 times, placing 2nd each time.

In 1977 Clyde opened the State Farm Agency in his hometown of Decatur, but the whistle beckoned him to Dalhart where the Wolves won the first district championship in 10 years. Then in 1980, it was time to find a permanent home for his family. He thus chose Bowie and was hired as an assistant coach and history teacher at Bowie High School. Clyde was instrumental in the Rabbits winning two district championships by heading up the defense in 1983 and 1984. In 1984 after the retirement of long-time principal, J. R. Matlock, Clyde became principal of Bowie Junior High School for 12 years & then spent 2 years in the Administration Office. He was just as tenacious as an administrator as he had been as a coach. In 1990 Clyde was honored to go to the Capitol in Austin to accept the prestigious Governor’s Educational Excellence Award that he and his faculty at BJHS had earned. This was quite an honor as very few schools in the state received this award. He had required all of his faculty to be trained in the Middle School Concept so that they could be successful with that special age.

In 1998 Clyde and Janet decided to retire after giving 37 & 32 years in education. They opened their home to become the Gazebo Bed and Breakfast which helps bring tourists to Bowie. Clyde was active in Bowie Main Street, serving as a Director, President and Chairman of the
Chicken and Bread Heritage Festival for 5 years, & was the MC for the fiddle contest. He was active in the Bowie Lions Club, serving as president and was instrumental in delivering the Christmas food baskets. He was also active in the United Methodist Church, having served for several years as Chairman of the Administrative Council and taught Sunday School. He and Janet also served on the Main Street Tourism Committee and represented Bowie at other town festivals and was also a member of the Committee for the Preservation of the Bowie Auditorium. He was also active in genealogy and served as Commander of the Sons of the American Revolution and Lt. Commander of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans as well as a member of the Wise County Veterans. He and Janet attended many state and national conventions.

He also helped Janet in her School Belles Antique business for over 10 years and was extremely proud to be on the committee that brought NCTC to Bowie and was secretary/ Treasurer of the NCTC 4-8 Board and was a member of the Bowie Chamber of Commerce. He was highly active in the Montague Retired Teachers Organization and served as President and was on the Texas State Legislative Committee and was a delegate to the State Convention many times.

In their retirement Clyde and Janet loved to travel extensively in the USA, Europe, and Canada, including countries such as the UK, Greece, Morocco, Italy, Spain, etc.Clyde loved the school business and said “That he never worked a day in his life” because he was so dedicated to his students. His theme at the junior high was “Students First” and “Eat hearty and give the house a good name”. But, of course, his greatest love were his children and grandchildren………and TCU, where he attended many functions and games.