Bruce Ian Murdoch (“Buzzy”) died on Dec. 27, 2024.
Buzzy was born on March 22, 1957, in Kingston, N.Y., to John and Irene Murdoch. He grew up in Woodstock, N.Y., and graduated from Kingston High School in 1975. After high school, Buzzy lived in Santa Cruz, Calif., and Burlington, Vt.; for the past 35-plus years, Oak Bluffs was his home.
He was a skilled stonemason, specializing in old-style drywalls and dry stack. (No mortar holds the wall together — binding is obtained by careful selection of interlocking stones.) Buzzy was a master at dry stack. His creations can be found all over Martha’s Vineyard, and other locations where he lived and worked. His other passion was golf. When he wasn’t playing golf, he built many of the stone walls at both the Edgartown Golf Club and Mink Meadows Golf Club.
He was predeceased by his parents; and by his sister, Linn, to whom he donated a kidney in 1980. He is survived by his brother, Gary; his nephews, Matthew Lowe (wife Maria), and Andrew Lowe (partner Maggie Calderon); his grandnephew, Artemis (Arlo), and grandniece Lindsey; as well as by many friends and family members.
A celebration of his life was held on August 23 at the P.A. Club.
In lieu of flowers or donations, Buzzy would wish you a happy life, full of joy and laughter. Have fun, be kind, and “pay it forward”!
I worked with Buzzy when I was 16. One of the hardest summers of my young life. We did indeed build dry stone walls and his partner built fireplaces and chimneys. I spent most of that summer carrying rocks and setting them with him and Artie, and tossing stones for his dog Wolf, a pure white German Shephard, to bring back. Wolf was easily 100lbs and could get into the back of the truck easily, if Buzz wasn’t around. But, when he was. Wolf would put just his front paws onto the down tailgate and wait wagging his tail while Buzzy would command him to get into the truck but Wolf, and I knew that if he waited long enough Buzz would grab him by the waste and help him up. Buzzy was a kind soul like that. He paid me everyday because he thought i should have some money in my pocket. I’m sad to hear of his passing, he was a kind fella.
.. Buzzy was a hard-working kind funny just the kind of guy was good to have in your pocket loved life loved his friends just a genuinely good man who left a lot of friends with a lot of great memories not a bad Legacy