Jan. 07--John Murray was clearly on to something when, with a partner, he started a small weather forecasting business after serving as a military meteorologist during World War II.
The firm would become the source of highly specialized forecasts for major industries as well as the average person wondering what kind of weather to expect for a weekend barbecue.
"John was the guy with all the foresight," said Dennis Trettel, co-founder of Murray and Trettel, one of the oldest private meteorological consulting firms in the U.S. "He saw opportunities where others didn't."
Murray, 94, of Brevard, N.C., and Ontonagon, Mich., a past fellow of the American Meteorological Society, died Dec. 9 of natural causes in his home in Brevard.
What Murray and Trettel, both veteran Army Air Forces weather officers, set out to do was to give companies industry-specific forecasts on a real-time basis -- better than what was at the time being provided by the Weather Bureau, now the National Weather Service.
In the process, the two men learned how to forecast the weather's effects on the operations of their clients. They were the first in the Chicago area to use a color code to indicate the severity of the effect of weather on a wide range of operations, such as snowplowing, outdoor activities, gas and electric use, and shipping temperatures for various items.
"I was constantly struck by what a pioneer John was and how much he had accomplished in our field," said Karl Bohnak, a longtime meteorologist for WLUC-TV6 in Negaunee, Mich. "He knew more about the weather than anyone I know but was always so modest about it."
Locally, the company has counted the city of Chicago, Commonwealth Edison, Ravinia, the Cubs and Brach's candy company among its clients.
"Together we were a great team," said Trettel, whose main responsibility within the company was formulating the forecasts.
"While John's job was doing the research and bringing in clients, mine was to make sure we kept them," Trettel said.
Born in Chicago, Murray grew up in the Rogers Park neighborhood. While attending Loyola University, he joined the Army Air Forces meteorology division and was sent to the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree, specializing in micrometeorology.
He later completed courses at San Marcos Navigational School in Texas, where he met Trettel, a Pennsylvania native. In 1946, the two opened an office on North Dearborn Street in Chicago and began looking for business.
"Businessmen used to regard the weather as a natural hazard that had to be accepted," Murray told the Chicago Tribune in a 1949 story. "But forecasts now are highly accurate, and business and industry can take advantage of them in specific ways."
Initially getting clients was tough. Local businessmen weren't about to change their operating procedures just because a couple of young meteorologists claimed to be expert forecasters.
That was, until Murray came up with the idea of sending forecasts to possible clients and then following up with reminders that their forecasts had been accurate.
"After that, business began rolling in like a fast-moving storm," Trettel recalled.
In the 1950s, and as the company and its staff grew, Murray and Trettel moved their base of operations to Skokie, and then to Northfield, before both men retired in the late 1980s.
In his retirement, Murray sat on the board of directors of Murray and Trettel, now headquartered in Palatine with a satellite office in Pennsylvania.
In addition to his wife, Helen, Murray is survived by his former wife, Grace, and six children from that marriage: two sons, John and William, and four daughters, Jill Gallery, Kathleen Jessen, Nancy Murray and Carolyn Murray. He is also survived by a brother, Jim Murray, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
