James R. Murchie

James R. Murchie, a former LLNL machinist, died March 30. He was 85.

Murchie was born on Oct. 26, 1934, to Archie and Jane Murchie in Kemmerer, Wyoming. After graduating from White Pine High School in 1953, he went on to serve as an apprentice at the naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. He married his wife of 66 years, Jeanne Kranovich, in 1953. In 1959, he began work at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as a machinist and worked with lasers for 30 years.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne; daughters, Kathy and Karen; son-in-law Cal; grandchildren Ross (Gina), Tai (Justin) and Erin (Romeo) and great-grandchildren Mia, Rocco, Kylie, Emma, Wesley, Olivia and Elinor. He also is survived by a brother, John (Helen) Murchie, and a sister, Jean Betts.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the preschool at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Manteca. There will be a celebration of life when social distancing guidelines for COVID-19 have ended.