Obituary of Elizabeth "Betty" Murphy

LINK to livestream of funeral mass

Click on  the link (above) to connect to the funeral home's facebook page (sign in is NOT required).  A livestream of the funeral mass will begin a few minutes before 10am on Saturday Feb 24th.

Elizabeth “Betty” Murphy passed away peacefully on February 18, 2024 after a long illness.  She was 83.  Betty was born to John and Anna (MacDonald) Moran in Malden.  She graduated from Malden High school in 1958.  Betty met her husband, the late John B. Murphy, Jr., also of Malden, when working at the First National grocery store during High School.  Betty graduated from St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing in 1961 and worked as a nurse to help put John through Boston University Law School.  John and Betty were married in 1963 and became the loving parents of Beth, Colleen, and Jennifer. 

Betty’s life was dedicated to caring for others. Her primary focus was being “Mom” and eventually “Nana,” and these jobs brought her immense joy.  Given her tireless energy, one job was never enough for Betty.  Over her lifetime and while putting her family first always, she worked as a nurse in many different settings. She graduated from Emmanuel College at the age of 42 to become the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.  Betty then went on to become a Certified Diabetes Nurse Educator, which was her career passion for twenty years.  Later, she became the School Nurse at Memorial Elementary School in Burlington where she greatly enjoyed caring for the students.  

Betty shared her energy with her communities through extensive volunteer hours. When her girls were young, she served on the Burlington Town Meeting Ways and Means Committee and she was the Regional Girl Scout “Cookie Mom.”  She also found time to drive cancer patients to appointments and to deliver Meals on Wheels.  In more recent years, she taught seniors about Medicare through the SHINE (Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone) Program, she knitted blankets and sweaters for hospitalized children, she sewed teddy bears for firefighters to comfort families in distress, and she arranged flower bouquets for local nursing homes. She served meals at homeless shelters, she did fundraising for the Stoneham Senior Center, and she volunteered as an usher at the North Shore Music Theater and the Stoneham Theater. Betty never tired of lending a hand.  

Betty was a true life-long learner.  While working, she continuously built upon on her nursing skills. All through her very last days, she was reading, listening to podcasts, and taking courses through the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Tufts University where she learned about a huge array of topics from art to science, to fashion, to environmental issues, artificial intelligence, and marine law. She enthusiastically shared her learning with her children and grandchildren until her last days.

Never one to leave idle time, Betty created Irish knit sweaters, dabbled in ceramics, enjoyed gardening, needlepoint, and crocheting.  She was a skilled seamstress. She made her own prom gowns for dances with John while he was at Boston College and altered her daughters’ prom and wedding dresses.  She was skilled mechanically and could fix appliances and resolve household issues of electricity or plumbing without calling for help.  Betty became a talented quilter later in life and made quilts for gifts and for charity.  Many of her pieces became ribbon winners at local quilt shows.  She enjoyed walking with neighbors in Burlington and exercise classes and card games with her friends in Wakefield.  Betty traveled extensively, from road trips to Graceland and cross country with Jennifer and to PEI with Colleen, to see family in Ireland, to Disney World with her grandkids, to Mayan Temples in Belize with Beth, to Hawaii, Europe, Russia, and Cuba with dear friends.  Of all her travel, Betty loved time at “Nana’s Cottage” in Maine the most.  There, Betty cherished time with her husband, daughters, sons-in-law, and most of all, with her 5 grandchildren.

Betty was predeceased by her loving husband, the late Hon. John Bernard Murphy, Jr., with whom she shared 29 years of marriage. She was the loving mother of Beth Walsh and her husband Michael of Melrose, Colleen Marticio and her husband Edward of Beverly, and Jennifer Murphy and her husband Julio Mota of Brookline. Betty treasured her role as Nana to Michael Walsh Jr., John Walsh, Matthew Marticio, Theodore Mota, and Desi Mota. Betty was predeceased by her two brothers, John “Jack” Moran of Stoneham, Frank Moran and his wife Barbara Moran of Burlington, and her late brother-in-law, Thomas Murphy and his wife Jane of Reading.  She is survived by her brother-in-law, William Murphy and his wife Claire of Peabody.  She was the proud aunt to many nieces and nephews. Betty was also the loving grandmother of Ibby, the family’s Bernedoodle.

A visitation for Betty will be held on Friday, February 23, from 4 to 7 PM at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington, MA 01803. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 9 AM with a funeral mass at 10 AM at St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn Street, Burlington, MA 01803. Burial following church at Chestnut Hill Cemetery, 52 Bedford Street, Burlington, MA 01803.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Betty’s memory to the Mass General Cancer Center at https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/cancer-center/, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at https://giving.masseyeandear.org/, or to a charity of your choosing.

For online guestbook, tribute video and service information, please visit, www.sullivanfuneralhome.net