Elvay Joseph "E.J." Muffley was born in Lexington, Illinois, on May 2, 1893. When he started school, he attended a one-room school house where one teacher taught grades first through eight. In fifth grade, he started attending Lexington Public Schools. He graduated from Lexington High School in 1912, at which time he took a teachers' examination which allowed him to teach in the country schools. He taught for one year before enrolling at Eureka College.
 
During his college years, E.J. spent his free time taking boys on hikes, playing basketball or swimming with them, and doing things that Boy Scouts do today. His concern for young people was recognized and he was offered a position as a playground supervisor.
 
In 1917, Muffley graduated from Eureka College and came to Decatur. He was General Secretary of the Pines YMCA, part of the beginning of the Decatur Recreation Department. E.J. In the 1920s, Muffley would organize basketball games in the Roach School gym. This activity caught on and eventually spread to other areas of the city.
 
Mr. Muffley's teaching career began in 1924 at Roosevelt Junior High, where he spent 35 years of service as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.
 
Among his many honors, Mr. Muffley was listed in the 1955-56 "Who's Who in American Education". He also received the National Life Member of PTA; at the time he received this honor, there was only one other person in the city holding this award.

Mr. Muffley was principal of Roosevelt Junior High School when the school board realized that the residential area around the present-day Muffley School had grown so much it needed a school. Mr. Muffley was so active in the community that the board decided to name the new building after him. At the dedication of the E.J. Muffley Elementary School on May 5, 1957, he spoke about the "fourth R in Education", which he called community responsibility. Mr. Muffley passed on August 22, 1986, at the age of 93.