SAN DIEGO, Calif. – James W. Murray, 70, formerly of Lewiston, a retired high school guidance counselor, died June 22, at his home in San Diego.

He was born in Lewiston, on May 23, 1938, a son of Thomas and Blanche Berube Murray, attended Lewiston schools and graduated from Lisbon High School in 1956.

After high school, he served in the U.S. Air Force. In 1965, he graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a bachelor of science degree in education and received a master’s degree in education from the University of Maine in 1967. He also received a certificate of advanced graduate studies in counseling from the University of New Hampshire in 1973.

He began his teaching career at Gardiner High School, where he also coached the men’s basketball team. He worked as a guidance counselor at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford, Mass., for 32 years before his retirement in 1999.

He began the work/school internship program at Masco with a few students and that program has now grown to more than 200 students per year. He truly valued education and his passion was to help students with the college application process and find financial aid to help them achieve their goals. He was the first president of the New England Counselors Association in 1980.

He was known for his love of the game of pool, card games, and his miniature schnauzer, Nikki. He relocated to San Diego in 2005 from Exeter, N.H. During his retirement, he volunteered as a eucharistic minister for hospitalized patients in the San Diego area. He enjoyed traveling the country and was an avid Boston sports fan. He was a member of Lions International and was very active in the Salisbury, Mass., chapter as well as the Elks Club in Newburyport, Mass.

Surviving are his two sons, Scott Murray of San Diego, Calif., and Daniel Murray of Portsmouth, N.H.; and two sisters, Mrs. Richard (Irene) Ledoux and Mrs. William (Joanne) King, both of Lisbon.

He was predeceased by is wife, Rita, in 2003 after 38 years of marriage; and his brother, Thomas Murray of Portland in 2001.