William F. "Murf" Murphy

William Murphy, 78, of Mt. Pleasant passed away Thursday, March 18, 2010, at Gratiot Medical Center in Alma. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 23, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Loren Kalinowski presiding. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home, 2300 S. Lincoln Rd., on Sunday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and Monday from 5-9 p.m. The Vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Visitation continues at the church one hour prior to Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to Woodland Hospice or the Commission on Aging. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. Bill was born March 23, 1931, in Mt. Pleasant, the son of the late William J. and Stella (Mead) Murphy. He attended Beal City Public Schools and married Patricia A. Lowther on Oct. 10, 1953, at Sacred Heart. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956 and served an additional 6 years in the Army Reserves. Because of his farming experience operating heavy equipment, Bill was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was instrumental in the development of its air strips. He was present at the time of sound barrier testing. When he returned from the service, he assisted in the completion of US 127 between Shepherd and Mt. Pleasant in the late 1950s. In 1961 he established Murphy Bulldozing and Trucking. He also had worked in the oilfield industry and in housing development. Some of his favorite pastimes were farming, riding bikes and four-wheelers, dancing, polka music, bird watching, and baseball cap collecting. He loved singing and faithfully attended the annual truck and tractor show in St. Ignace. He was a member of Sacred Heart Parish, the Elks Club 1400 in Alma, Clare Moose Lodge 2268, and Mt. Pleasant Knights of Columbus Council 1297. Bill is survived his wife of 56 years, Patricia A. Murphy of Mt. Pleasant; three children, Timothy (Barbara) Murphy, Sandra (Raymond) Harnick, and Christopher (Vicki) Murphy, all of Mt. Pleasant; daughter-in-law, Kathy (Ed) Hall of Mt. Pleasant; nine grandchildren, Kyle, Dannielle, and Nicholle Murphy, Samantha Murphy and Corey and Casey Haynes, Jenna and Jayde Harnick, and Jennifer Stevens; one great-grandson, Aiden Murphy; two brothers, Thomas J. (Donna) Murphy of Mt. Pleasant and George B. (Gloria) Murphy of Marshall; brother-in-law, Dan Kostrzewa of Mt. Pleasant; sister-in-law, Peggy (Dr. Thomas) Richmond of Cadillac; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a son, David James Murphy in 2002; and his sister, Mary Kostrzewa in 2009.