Warden Dave Burton’s statement on the death of Councillor Murray Fearrey

A statement from Warden Dave Burton on the passing of Councillor Murray Fearrey

We are deeply saddened about the loss of Murray Fearrey, our fellow colleague, County Council councillor, and Mayor of Dysart et al. On behalf of County Council and staff, I offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends, council and staff at the municipality of Dysart et al, and to our community mourning his loss.

Murray was involved in public service in Haliburton County for more than five decades, having first been elected to Dysart council in 1971, where he missed only two council meetings during his time serving between 1971 and 2022.

Throughout these years, he also served as County Councillor, representing Dysart et al as reeve or mayor, and served as Warden one dozen times, between 1974 to 2015.

As a representative of Haliburton County, he was active on numerous boards and committees including the Haliburton Highlands Health Services board, Haliburton County Public Library board, Planning Advisory Committee, the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton Poverty Reduction Roundtable, and Land Division Committee.

Murray served as a member of the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus during his time as County Warden, and is remembered for his advocacy on behalf of our area and being instrumental in lobbying the province to remove the provisional tag from the County.

Murray was also an active member of the community, serving as past president of the Haliburton Rotary Club, as well as numerous other community initiatives. He enjoyed golf, fishing, and the outdoors.

“Politics has been most of my life,” he told the Haliburton Echo in 2022 before starting what would be his last term of council. “I like people, and I like seeing progress, and I am looking forward to it.”

Murray was a dedicated leader who made an exceptional and lasting contribution to the County through his public service, and his passing is a great loss to our community.  

In honour of Murray’s life and public service to the County and our community, the flags at the County administrative building will be lowered until the day of his funeral.

Dated this Friday, May 29th, 2026