John Murray, elder at Maple Crest Senior Living Community, told Bluffton fourth graders about his life-long challenge with cerebral palsy, during a special program earlier this week.

Murray was interviewed by Louise Matthews, director of “The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center” of Bluffton University. The session as part of an on-going program with Bluffton fourth graders that emphasizes kindness and respect towards all people. 

The event was hosted at Maple Crest.

Murray told students that feels that the disease has ultimately been a blessing in his life, giving him the drive to experience life fully and to continue to expect exciting things to happen.

From the firm foundation that his parents gave him, to the family life he enjoyed with his wife, Barbara, and their two children, to the support he has today from a wide variety of friends, he said that he recognizes that a disability does not need to limit a person’s participation in life.

Murray summed up his perspective: “I’ve had a great life and it’s still going on!”

The fourth graders listened intently to Murray's story and to a book that Matthews read about a boy with cerebral palsy who found ways to help others.

Then, students took their turn in sharing their gifts by singing for Murray and his friends, playing Christmas songs on their recorders, and decorating the Patio Room windows with their own home-made snowflakes.