The Terrible Catsafterme » Ancestry

Uncle Duane

Brad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:42:39 +0000

On August 29, 2009, my Great-Uncle Duane Murphy passed away at the age of 90. Duane, whose official given name was Harry after his father, was 90 years old and living at the Englewood Manor nursing home, in the early stages of Alzheimier’s Disease. Duane (standing on the right in the photo at left with my Grandpa and their Mom Edith) was my Grandpa Murphy’s brother and he is fondly remembered by his family for his dry wit and his sarcastic sense of humor, which apparently trickled down to some of his extended family over the years.

Duane served in the United States Army during World War 2, stationed in Japan, working as an aide to General MacArthur. My Grandpa remembers going to see him graduate from Officer’s Candidate School in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1941, the year he graduated from high school. After the war ended Duane served in the Army Reserves for 14 years, retiring from the service as a Major.

The Murphy family: Louise, Duane, Edith (mother), Harold (my Grandpa), and Harry (father)

In civilian life, he worked as an accountant and auditor working for the Ohio Paper Company, the Dayton Steel Foundry, and eventually for the State of Ohio, from which he retired. He then went on to volunteer his services in the finance department of Good Samaritan Hospital.

Although we seldom socialized with Duane and his family, my parents became close with his daughter Bobbie back in the mid-1980′s and by default I would socialize with his granddaughter Becky and her younger brother Charles. Most recently, we all visited Duane at the nursing home on Saturday, December 13, 2008, to celebrate his 90th birthday on December 9. Here I was reunited with Becky after more than twenty years.

I attended the nice service at the Tobias Funeral Home in Englewood on Thursday, September 3. It was nice to see all of Duane’s family surround him and hear testimonies by Bobbie and Becky of how much he had meant to their lives. It was nice to see Charles again as well, although I doubt he remembered me from the rambunctious days in the 80′s. Duane’s son Mike, who lives in North Carolina, was also at the service and asked me to serve as a pallbearer. And although I hadn’t met his children (at least that I recall), I got to meet three other second-cousins Sara, Matthew, and Jonathon, all carrying on the Murphy name.

I did not attend the burial service at the Glen Haven Memorial Gardens in Donnellsville, but I understand that it was memorable as Duane received a 21-gun salute and a rendering of Taps. The flag was folded and presented to his widow Norma. After the service was a gathering at the Happy Corner Church of the Brethren. I found it ironic that my family had always been associated with the Brethren, and we never knew that Duane was a member. It makes one wish that we had been more involved with him and his family.

Presented here are some photos collected from various sources of Duane over the years, culminating in our last meeting with him in December 2008.

Duane with his sister Louise and my Grandma Loretta. Their husbands Carroll and Harold (seen in the pictures that they’re holding) were off to war

Duane in 1949 on the horse Pepper

Duane and his wife Norma with their kids Bobbie and Mike

Duane, Louise, and my Grandpa on the occasion of their Mother’s passing . Photo taken on March 25, 1985.

My Grandpa’s last meeting with his brother on December 13, 2008…

…and my last meeting with him as well

2009 will continue…

The Murphys of Christmas Past, Specifically 1967

Brad — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:01:18 +0000

This year in our installment of photos from early Murphy Christmas celebrations, color comes to the Murphy family as we enjoy these photographs from the Christmas of 1967. Some appear to be taken on Christmas morning in the house on Cunnington Lane, while some later in the day for the Murphy family Christmas party. This in fact was not so much a ‘Murphy’ gathering but rather a ‘Murlin’ gathering, since the siblings present were those of my Grandma’s.

I might point out that the tradition of the Murphy gathering on Christmas day was not broken until this very year, 2008. As I write this, I am getting ready to head out to the Murphy Christmas party, which is coming two days after the actual holiday. You will be able to compare and contrast the participants when the website coverage of that event comes to the Terrible Catsafterme.

5-year old Darlene visits Santa Claus at the Eagles Christmas party

Mom and Bev all dressed up during the holiday season. Orange and white were normal colors in 1967.

Back row: Grandma Murphy, Great Grandma Murlin, Diana, Great Grandma Murphy, Darlene. Front row: Bev, Mom, Tom, and Jim

Tom chats with Jim over a box of tools

Grandma Murphy (at right with Grandpa) with her three brothers and their wives: Lawrence and Lilahmae, Bob and Aunt Rita, and Bud and Aunt Joan (pronounced like Jo-Anne)

I had originally assumed that the photos below were also from the 1967 Christmas, but after some lively discussion as seen in the comments below, have determined that they are most likely taken at Grandma and Grandpa’s 25th wedding anniversary around September 13, 1968. They were taken at Diana and Tom’s first home after they were married, located on Yorkshire Drive in Dayton.

Grandpa and Grandma open up their anniversary gifts

Grandpa handles the gift opening, while Grandma hangs on to the card

Check out last year’s pics here…

Grandpa F’s Colorado Adventure

Brad — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:55:58 +0000

A while back, I posted some great vintage postcards that my Grandpa sent to my Grandma before they were married. These were written during his trek through Colorado with his brother Virgil during the Summer of 1937. Below are some photos taken during the trip. Most interesting are shots taken at the grave of “Buffalo Bill” Cody – proving once and for all that I am not the first family member fascinated by ‘famous graves’ and having my picture taken in front of historical monuments.

Grandpa and the grave of Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill’s Monument

Atop Pike’s Peak

Virgil and an interesting landscape

Grandpa and the Pike’s Peak Railway, early morning Wednesday, August 18, 1937

Grandpa poses with a bear, presumedly – and hopefully – stuffed

Virgil and the same bear

During their trip to Colorado Springs and Pike’s Peak, Grandpa and Virgil visited the Garden of the Gods and snapped the photo below of Grandpa with Balanced Rock.

Nearly fifty years later – in the Spring of 1986 – his grandchildren Denise and I visited the Garden of the Gods as well. Although I didn’t have the good sense to actually get in a photo of Balanced Rock, Denise and my Mom did. Although taken from a slightly different angle, as one obsessed with ‘then-and-now’ images, I find it interesting to compare the photos of the same tourist attraction taken fifty years apart.

Postcards from Grandpa F – Part 3

Brad — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:45:38 +0000

Here are the remaining two (out of six) postcards that my Grandpa wrote to my Grandma during his 1937 excursion to Colorado before they were married. The first one was written on Monday, August 16 and mailed from Golden. Here he mentions seeing Buffalo Bill’s gravesite. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one in the family who is interested in ‘famous graves’. The second and final card, describes the experience of going up into Pikes Peak. This apparently was the end of his trip – unless there were more postcards in this series that I simply don’t have. Incidentally, the photo above was taken in the Summer of 1963 and was quite possibly – if not likely – the last photo taken of my Grandpa.

Return to the first cards here…

See photos from Grandpa’s trip here…

Postcards from Grandpa F – Part 2

Brad — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:20:35 +0000

Here are the next two postcards in this series from my Grandpa’s trip through Colorado in 1937 that were written the Summer before he married my Grandma. The first one was written on Sunday, August 15 after touring through Boulder. The second was written first thing Monday morning once he had arrived in Estes Park. My Grandpa’s brother Virgil was accompanying him on this trip through Colorado, and I’m betting it would have been a fun trip to be on.

The postcards conclude in the next posting…