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- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181464457/walter-douglas-murphy
- Murphy, W. Douglas ? The death of Walter Douglas ?Doug? Murphy, of the Turnbull Home, 231 Britain Street, husband of the late Frances (Legere) Murphy, occurred peacefully at Bobby?s Hospice, 385 Dufferin Row, West Saint John, at 9:45 on the evening of All Saints Day, 1 November 2013, surrounded by his loving family.
A native and lifelong resident of Saint John, Doug was the firstborn of Walter Hatfield Irving Murphy and Winifred Gertrude ?Wynn? (Cox) Murphy. He was born on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, 1933?his parents? first wedding anniversary?and grew up in the City?s South End (where his maternal grandparents, Harry and Ellen (Marshall) Cox, were prominently identified with the grocery trade). He retained a lifelong affection for the South End and its people.
Doug?s early life and development were profoundly impacted by the influence of his grandfather, Captain George Murphy (1874-1955), a retired sea captain, whose people had immigrated to Saint John from Brahalish, Parish of Durrus, County Cork, Ireland, in 1831. The eminent New Brunswick author H. A. Cody was a friend of Doug?s beloved ?Danny??and Rev. Cody?s frequent visits to the Murphy residence on Britain Street inspired in Doug an enduring interest in Canadian literature.
In May of 1937, a four-year-old Doug witnessed the flight of the Graf Zepplin over Saint John. For the remainder of his life he was passionately interested in aviation. During his youth, he was an accomplished model airplane builder. Perhaps the greatest disappointment of his life came in 1951 when, at the completion of his training as a commercial pilot, it was discovered that he suffered from red/green colour deficiency and that he was, for this reason, ineligible to fly professionally.
Douglas Murphy attended King Edward, Saint John Junior High School (Union Street) and Saint John Vocational School. A lifelong passion for music first manifested itself when Doug was a boy soprano in the choir of Trinity Church. He went on to study musical theory and composition with Professor William Comerford Bowden. Throughout the 1950s, 60s and early 1970s, he and his band, ?Doug Murphy?s Orchestra? were widely known throughout southern New Brunswick. He also played with the ?Troubodors? and with Paige Ormandy?s and Bruce Holder?s orchestras. For more than forty years, he was a member of the Third Field Artillery, Loyal Co. Band, retiring with the rank of Master Warrant Officer. He was a long-standing member of St. Mary?s Band, a member of the Black Cats Big Band and the leader of the Buskers Big Little Band. Songs written and or arranged by Doug Murphy have been performed by numerous orchestras, bands and choirs. During the early 1970s, he taught music at the Hampton Consolidated School. From 1965 until 2008, he served as choir director at St. Joachim?s Church in East Saint John. He served on a number of Saint John Diocesan liturgical committees and, together with the late Rev. Peter Bagley, coordinated the music for the episcopal ordination of the late Most Rev. Arthur Gilbert, Bishop of Saint John. Doug was a charter member and executive office holder of the New Brunswick Musician?s Association, local 815 AFM.
Douglas Murphy had a long and varied career in the retail industry, working in his youth as a framer at Empire Wallpaper before founding Saint John Art Framing with partner Vince Livingstone. He later combined his knowledge of sales and music, working for Ben Goldstein in his Charlotte Street music store, later managing Goldstein?s Union Street store before opening his own business, Melody Mill Ltd., at 36 King Street, in 1960. In 1968 he was recruited by the F.W. Woolworth Company to establish the record department at Woolco. He later expanded into cameras and electronics. He retired in 1992.
Doug dabbled in ventriloquism and magic (illusions) and was an accomplished and painstaking carpenter and craftsman. He was a member of the Magic Circle, of the Irish Canadian Cultural Association, the New Brunswick Liberal Association, the East Saint John Clean Air Coalition and the Champlain Heights Home and School Association.
A lifelong student of comparative religion, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Rev. Robert G. O?Donnell, C. Ss.R, in St. Peter?s Church, on 28 December 1958. After moving to Champlain Heights, in 1965, he became very actively involved in the life of St. Joachim?s Parish. In addition to his role as choir director, he was a member of the church building committee which oversaw the construction of ?new St. Joachim?s?. He was a third degree member of the Knights of Columbus, Rev. H. G. Ramage Council 8364. Doug was a man of many quiet benefactions and was the recipient of numerous awards, recognizing his various contributions to the greater Saint John community, including the Merit Award ?in recognition of outstanding contribution to the Province of New Brunswick? and the Queen?s Jubilee Medal.
From April of 1965 until November of 2008, Doug resided at 19 York Street, in Champlain Heights, where he made numerous close friends. By a bitter-sweet confluence of circumstances, declining health led to his taking up residence at the ?Turnbull Estates? in his beloved South End, on November 5, 2008.
Doug Murphy was first and foremost a family man. On May 18th, 1959, he married the love of his life and fellow South Ender, Frances Lillian Theresa Legere, daughter of Leo J. and Lillian (Quinn) Legere, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Together they were blessed with forty-five years of extraordinarily happy married life. Fran predeceased him on 21 August 2004. Doug was a proud, loving and attentive father to his three children, Stephen Douglas ?Steve? (Sara Colburne), of Halifax; Peter Douglas (Melody, nee Clarke), of Ottawa, and Ellen Frances Catherine, of Saint John. In addition to his children, he is survived by five adoring grandchildren: Nora Elizabeth Nunn Murphy and Brendan Douglas Murphy, both of Halifax; Agnès Mary Frances Murphy (born on his 70th birthday), Leo Kenneth Douglas Murphy and Gregory Edmund Charles Murphy, of Ottawa. He also leaves to mourn their loss, his brother and sister: George Philip (Ted) Murphy (Sandra, nee Doucette), of Stratford, Prince Edward Island and Cassidy Lake, Kings County; and Ruthann Alice Galbraith, of Grand Bay-Westfield. In addition, he is survived by his step-mother, Doris (Ferguson Moore) Murphy of West Saint John, by brothers and sisters-in-law: Barry Leger (Patricia, nee Maber), of Saint John; J. Paul Leger (Michèle, nee Cyr) of Fredericton and Michael Leger, of Saint John; Sister Therese Frances Leger (Joan), Franciscan of Halifax, of Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia; Catherine "Kay" Williams, of Saint John; Elizabeth "Liz" Reid (Paul) of Huntsville, Ontario and Amelia "Toby" (nee Tobias) Legere, of Saint John. He is also survived by thirty nieces and nephews and thirty-six grand nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed by his dear friends David and Madelyn Williams of Saint John.
In addition to his parents: Walter (1998) and Winifred (Cox) Murphy (1991), and by one sister and one brother, Barbara Jean and Harold Wilfred (both in infancy), he was predeceased by his father-in-law, Leo J. Leger (1976), by his step-mother-in-law, Margaret (Campbell) Leger Beckingham (1998), by his brother-in-law and lifelong friend, Edmund "Ned" Legere (1999), by brother-in-law, Ronald "Skeezie" Williams (2004); by a niece, Caroline Elizabeth Murphy (in infancy, 1965), a nephew, Eric Douglas Jensen (1997) and by four grandchildren in utero.
Arrangements are in the care of Fundy Funeral Home, 230 Westmorland Road, Saint John (646-2424). The family will receive visitors at the Funeral Home on Monday from 7-9 p.m. and on Tuesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated in St. Joachim's Church, 603 Loch Lomond Road, Saint John, on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery with a reception commencing at 12:30pm at the Simonds Lions Auditorium. Musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments. The family would appreciate donations to Bobby?s Hospice.
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1933 - 2013 (80 years)