Obituary of William Murphy

William T. Murphy, beloved husband of 51 years of Anne B. (Laundry), passed away on Tuesday night, March 6, 2012 at the Tufts New England Medical Center. He was 75 years old. William was born in Melrose, the son of the late William and Jane Murphy. He grew up in Stoneham and was a graduate of Medford Vocational Tech High School. He married his wife, Anne, in 1960 and they settled in Woburn to raise their four children. Bill was actively involved in his children’s activities for many years. He owned and operated Napa Auto Parts in Chelmsford for 30 years prior to his retirement. He worked hard to grow his business and gain the trust of his many loyal customers. Prior to opening his own business Bill was an expert machinist and made parts for the Apollo Space Program. He was also a licensed oil burner technician. After retirement, he was employed part time at Enterprise where he made many good friends. He was a member of the Chelmsford Elks. When William was not working, he was an avid golfer. Bill and Anne loved to travel to many places with Florida being one their most favorite destinations. He loved spending time with his family and relished in his role as grandfather. He was a devoted and loving husband, a proud and supportive father, and a fun and entertaining grandfather. Along with his wife he is survived by his four children Carol Foos & her husband Robert of Mansfield, William Murphy, Jr. of Woburn, Thomas Murphy & his wife Stacey of Andover, and David Murphy of Woburn. Brother of the late Janet Mahoney. He was the proud grandfather of Michael and Kathryn Foos, and Joseph Murphy. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Monday, March 12 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Charles Church, 280 Main St., Woburn at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday from 3-7 p.m. Interment in Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. Memorials in William’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701 or www.cancer.org or to the charity of your choice. Family Remembrance by Tom Murphy My father; William Murphy was the greatest man I’ve ever known. He led by example. My father was the husband of Anne for over 51 years and the son of Jane and William; brother of Janet, father to Carol, Billy, David and myself, father-in-law to Bob and Stacey and grandfather to Michael, Kathryn and Joseph and friend to many….. In December we were in New York City at the Museum of National History and I notice a quote from Teddy Roosevelt stating his definition of a young man and I felt it described my father it stated. “I want to see you Game Boys. I want to see you Brave and manly and I also want to see you gentle and tender. Be Practical as well as generous in your ideals keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. Courage, Hard Work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to a successful life. Character in the long run is the decisive factor in the individual and of nations a-like.” My father was strong but tender and worked hard but he took some chances along his life. Everyone who met my father knew he was a hard worker. He manufactured parts that NASA would send into space as part of the early space program. He worked two jobs at one point and even owned his own Napa Auto Parts store for 30 years. But it wasn’t until he sold that business that he got to start his most important career as an Enterprise car mover….That was the best job he ever had. He loved it so much; when he first started he would call my nephew Michael almost every day just to tell him what cars he got to drive that day… and what deals he got on lunch! He absolutely loved it and loved shooting the breeze with the guys he worked with. My mother loved it too because it got him out of the house. Before he went into the hospital for his surgery, he marked on the calendar the date of his return, 90 days since the last day he worked. He didn’t want to lose his twenty five cent raise... as if it was about the money! Like I said, my father was a very hard worker, but it was all done for his family. Despite the sometimes long hours he would still make time for my mother and his children. He would drive my brother and Billy and I to hockey practice, which was at 5 AM and be at most games giving us advice. (rebound story). During the summer every year we would go to my grandparent’s cottage in New Hampshire. After, my sister Carol graduated college and started to work, he would stay back with her and work as well. Despite, having to work he would always make time once a week to take her out to dinner, just father and daughter. They continued that even after she moved out of the house. My father loved golf but he didn’t start playing until he was about 43 years old. The first time he played was with me and my friend he had borrowed a set of clubs but as soon as we got off the course we went to Caldor’s and he bought a starters set of clubs…about two weeks after that I noticed another set of clubs in the garage so I ask where they came from…he looked at me and said….don’t tell your mother but I bought another set of clubs because the first set was a piece of junk. My father really enjoyed golfing and would play all the time up until recently. He had planned to go away to Myrtle Beach with his friends to play. He spent a great deal of time with me playing golf. He mentored my nephew’s love for the game and even became close with his son-in-law and his family through the game. My father could talk and talk….he would talk to anyone he met. When we on vacation at Disney many years ago I remember him talking to whoever was in front of us in line and behind us…I remember asking my mother “Does he have to talk to everyone he meets?” and my mother told that who he is…he likes talking… My father was the most mechanical person I’ve ever known. He could fix anything…let me give you a couple examples. Shortly after we purchased our house I was in the basement because I’m very dumb I turned a shut-off valve that hadn’t been turned in 50 years or more and guess what??? Yes it broke off and water stated to leak on the floor. I got a barrel to put under it and then I called my father. He came over right away and looked it…he told me if we are very lucky we might be able to cut out the section of pipe and fix it and if not then we’ll have about 20 gallons of water on the floor….he was able to cut out the pipe and replace it without an issue….I later told the plumber that worked on my house and he told me that he wouldn’t have even try to do what my father did and it would have cost me $1K or more to fix it. Just recently I had to replace the internal valve for my shower and I was able to just everything back together except one piece so I called him and tell what wasn’t going together…I’m using words like the thing-a-ma-jig and what-ya-ma-call-it….he tells me to get a hammer a block of wood and some kitchen soap…put the soap around the edges and then tap the wood with the hammer and it should go together…sure enough it worked like a charm. He was amazing….just amazing. When I doing my house over he came ever Saturday and Sunday to just in and provide guidance and to make sure I didn’t kill myself by try to do something stupid…which I did all the time. The design of our house was pretty much done by him he had all the good ideas and Stacey and he put the design together. My mother will tell you if he had a little more money he could have gone to school and been an architect or at minimum a great builder of homes. He actually built the first house my family lived in on Montvale Lane. It was a little cape. He my Uncle Jack built the two Cape on that road which our families lived in for about 14 years. My father loved his family immensely he was always calling to check on us. I was Lucky enough to speak with him 4 to 20 times a week. He would call our house ever Sunday about 7PM as does Stacey mom so when the phone rings I would look at my wife and say “Your mother or My father?”. Up until recently we thought we were the only ones who got those seven o’clock phone calls, but we found out in the last couple of weeks… He called everyone in the family! He always had questions to ask. He would call my Niece Kathryn and ask her questions about the fashion trends of the young people. He would call her and ask “Do all boys in the teens wear baseball hats? Sideways?” or “What’s with the teen age boys wearing their pants so low that underwear is showing?” He would call my nephew and ask, “What is the password for my Netgear account?” as if my nephew would know. He always had a question to ask, but I think he really just wanted to talk. My father was a doer he never procrastinated about anything. If there was something to get done he got it done…he just did it. My brother Billy and I have asked my mother “Doesn’t Dad like to just sit and watch TV?” He does but if he has something to do he gets it done. My father loved his grandchildren very very much. Michael has turn into the great young man and my father took pride in his intelligence and well he done in school; now a dean list Law student at Suffolk Law school and Kathryn was the apple of his eye she is beautiful and smart he loved talking with her all the time and showing her off to his friends when she came to Florida to visit my mother and him. My son Joe loves his Papa…and my father loved being called Papa…he just loved it! Having Joe carry on the Murphy name made him feel great. The first time my parents met was actually on a double date. My mother had been on a few dates with one of my father’s good friends, but by the end of the double date, my father decided he really liked my mother. He asked his friend for her number and understandably his friend refused. In response, my father said, “If Anne likes you so much; she will turn me down if I call her. Or are you afraid she likes me better?” The friend fell into my father’s trap and gave him my mother’s phone number. When my father called my mother for the first time she said “YES I loved to!” My father would have done anything to be with my mother. He continued that trend for the fifty-one years they were married. During that time they were able to travel to many places including Hawaii, Bermuda, Alaska, Florida and many others. They drove to Florida every year during their retirement, because they enjoyed making the drive together. It was simple things like that, which showed the world the love they shared for each other. Dad you will missed very much by all who knew you!!!