Obituary of James Wilfred Murphy

James “Jim” Wilfred Murphy, 68, of St. Petersburg, Florida, peacefully floated away surrounded by his family on July 19th, 2018 after battling complications from pneumonia in New Brunswick, New Jersey at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The loving son of John “Joe” Joseph Murphy and Marie (Gaudreau) Murphy, he was born on September 11, 1949 at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was the second oldest child, and the oldest son, of Joe and Marie’s nine children who were primarily raised in Hyde Park. Education was an enduring passion and pursuit. After completing elementary school at Most Precious Blood in Hyde Park, he graduated from Catholic Memorial High School in 1967. Jim then attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and earned a degree in psychology, graduating with the class of 1972. Later on, in the midst of his career and family, he completed a master’s degree in education from Boston University and additional coursework at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. While at UMass, Jim met and began his long relationship with the love of his life and “beautiful bride” Linda Ellen (Kissam) Murphy. Jim and Linda married at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Piscataway, New Jersey on October 12, 1974 and their “honeymoon never ended”, as he would happily relate to anyone willing to listen. Jim was an absolutely devoted father and “proud pappy” of his two children, Gavin Kissam Murphy and Andrea Gaudreau (Murphy) Brunelli, and a doting “Gramps” to his four grandchildren Norah, Tessa, Griffin, and Roger. Jim and Linda initially lived on Mass. Ave in Boston before moving to Wollaston and then Canton and then to Marina Bay before moving to Florida upon their retirement in 2012. He was heavily but healthily involved in his children’s activities at every stage of their life, including as a coach and the commissioner of Quincy Youth Soccer, cubmaster of the local Cub Scout pack in Canton, and Little League coach for both of his children. He was also a fully engaged member of all his communities, such as his service with Linda as a Eucharistic Minister and Pre-Cana counselor at St. John the Evangelist in Canton and his steady support of community pools (though not of the swimming variety) and fantasy sporting. After college Jim worked at the Brockton YMCA with at-risk youth as part of a program with the Department of Youth Services (DYS) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A natural leader, he caught the eye of someone up the chain and was brought to the DYS central office to expand the reach of his impact. Jim’s rare combination of charisma, analytical skills, and willingness to work harder than the next guy continued to propel his career and he was elevated to the role of Director of Procurement and Contracting in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services before moving to a senior role at MassHealth around 1990. A few years later, he left the service of the Commonwealth and founded the Jas W. Murphy & Associates business empire, providing consulting to the public and private sector for the next 20 years and in the early 1990s he worked closely with a promising young bureaucrat named Charlie Baker. What his empire lacked in manpower--his immediate family members were his “associates”--he made up for in hard work, resilience, and the ability to solve through whatever problems were put in front of him. Nor was Jim satisfied to work a single job at a time; as a state employee he worked nights as a tax preparer and a bartender, and as a consultant often juggled multiple major client engagements. Jim’s interests were wide and deep. He was an avid golfer, organizing and playing in tournaments for his different groups of friends, such as the HOSK group and The Derider Cup. The son of a professional baseball player, he had a deep love of the game which manifested in countless visits to Fenway Park and many family road trips around the country to destinations that just happened to overlap with ballparks he had not yet visited. He could often be found reading the Bill James Baseball Encyclopedia for fun and discovery, looking for interesting stats and patterns that he could bring to bear in later conversations and trivia contests. A voracious reader, he particularly enjoyed the works of Ken Follett and Nelson DeMille. Jim brought his analytical mind to bear on the English language as well. He would delight in using a rare word at the appropriate point in a casual conversation and would use it as a teachable moment to talk about the word with humor to disarm any interpretation of condescension. His quick wit and enthusiasm to describe some “crazy situation” earned him a well-deserved reputation as a storyteller and joker. Sometimes his dry humor was misread, perhaps to the dismay of many waiters and waitresses over the years, but his heart was always in the right place. Jim’s encyclopedic knowledge also covered music, with a concentration in rock and roll. He made easy connections between the events around him and particular lyrics from a song, and he would use those connections to introduce many people to new songs both popular and obscure. Jim had an omnivorous love of music, ranging from early blues to classical and opera music; a bust of Mozart on his desk kept him company while he used his computer. His karaoke performances were legendary, and he was often called upon to belt out Wooly Bully at a function by those who had seen him perform elsewhere. He could be a Wild Man (see: Wooba Gooba version) at a wedding. Movies were another passion, with frequent trips to the cinema and repeat home watchings of his favorites from the 60s through present day; Eraserhead was a particular favorite and is recommended for the uninitiated. Jim was one of the best companions you could ask for when working on a puzzle, and he left scores of frustrated scrabble, cribbage, and chess opponents in his wake. Known alternately as Jimmy, Murph, Jimbo, and Conman (a double meaning he enjoyed from his contract management days), he also had a habit of bestowing unique and memorable nicknames on others when the spirit moved him; Mark became Marcus, Ben was Benzo, and Chris dubbed C-Dog, not to mention many more. In his later years, Jim faced more than his fair share of health problems through no fault of his own. Despite this, he always met everyone with love in his heart, a sparkle in his eye, and a joke on his lips. A rare genetic illness led to his use of AFOs (“look it up”) which would have made many self-conscious. Not Jim. He was an advocate and an evangelist for the medical devices that improved his quality of life and would gladly spend time patiently explaining his health issues and devices to strangers in the hope that the knowledge would be able to help others as well. He was keenly aware of the risk that his children faced from the disease and was always on the lookout for any signs that they might be affected. Life did not slow down much for Jim in retirement. He chose instead to travel the world, establish himself in his new home of St. Petersburg and learn the local pastime bridge, and take long road trips up and down the east coast to visit his far-flung family and friends as much as possible, always with his teammate and best friend Linda at his side. These trips were exhausting to him but never a complaint was to be heard. Jim was an unapologetic liberal his whole life, although he was always registered as an Independent because he felt that every election was a fresh opportunity to re-evaluate the policies of each political party and choose the best candidate rather than vote a party line. He was a passionate believer in the power of government to marshal the resources of society in pursuit of lifting people up and giving them opportunities that would not have otherwise been available, especially in the areas of healthcare and education. Jim’s Christmas letter was an annual opportunity for him to share the year’s news and opine on the politics of the day; there was a lot of head shaking in the last 18 months. He spent most of his career supporting public healthcare in one capacity or another, a legacy carried on by both of his children who have also chosen careers related to healthcare. His departure leaves a hole in the life of those close to him, and unknowingly to those he had yet to meet. At every stage of life, Jim made lifelong friends that he stayed in close contact with until the end. His spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of all who knew him. We will never forget him, and his stories will be told around dinner tables and barstools for decades. Jim is survived by his lovely wife Linda, his children Gavin and Andrea, his grandchildren Norah Murphy, Tessa Brunelli, Griffin Brunelli, and Roger Murphy, his mother Marie "Gigi" AKA "Grammie" Murphy, his siblings Jeanne (Murphy) Ford, John “Johnny” Murphy, Thomas “Tommy” Murphy, Paul Murphy, Brendan Murphy, and Mark Murphy, his Aunt Claire (Gaudreau) Kessinger, many Kessinger, Donovan, and Mullin cousins, dozens of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews, scores of relatives-in-law, and still others that were “brothers by another mother”. He joins in Heaven his father Joe, his brother Kenneth “Kenny” Murphy, his sister Kathleen Murphy, and many other relatives and close friends whose time on Earth ended before his. Memorial services will be held in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida. All wishing to come and remember Jim are welcome at each service, but the expectation is that people will attend the service which is most geographically convenient for them. The New Jersey service was held at the Higgins Memorial Home on Saturday, July 28th. There will be a Boston celebration of life event at the JFK Library (Smith Hall) in Dorchester on Sunday 9/23 from 12-3, with remarks scheduled for 1:30. There will be a Florida gathering of neighbors to remember Jim on October 21st in the community where he lived. In lieu of flowers, please call or hug someone you love and strengthen the bonds that bind us together as families, friends, and a society. For extra credit, donations may be made via cmtausa.org to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association.