Paul W. Murphy, Jr

Paul Willam Murphy, Jr., born on November 23rd, 1950, passed away in hospice care, late night on Wednesday, June 11th. He was 74 years of age.

Paul is survived by his 3 sons, Mark, Eric and Nicholas Murphy. Paul is preceded in death by his wife Jeannette, his mother Eileen Morrell (née Crowley) and father Paul William Murphy, Senior, as well as his brothers Smackie and Johnny. He is survived by his sisters Joannie, Jeannie, Paula and Lori, as well as his brothers Tommy, Jimmy and Skipper. Paul was a soft spoken, big hearted man of few words, and a notoriously gift-sprinkling grandfather to his grandchildren, sisters Ryann and Avery and their brother Dylan Murphy. Paul was also deeply caring to both daughters in law, Shana (née Simpkins) and Haven (née Holstein) Murphy. Paul knew more about Pop Culture than Pop Culture knew about itself, and his expertise has left a void in the family.

The eldest of his siblings, Paul was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Being from the frozen tundra, Paul enjoyed playing hockey in his youth, and did so until about 50 years of age. Regionally predisposed, Paul was a dyed in the wool supporter of the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox. Last World Series, he bought the hat of the team who won, not as a fan, but just because they defeated the New York Yankees. He was a Veteran of the U.S. Air Force, in which he served as a Medic. While stationed in Louisiana, he met and married his lifelong love, Jeannette, in 1972.

In 1974 after their first son Mark was born, they relocated to Brockton, MA, where Eric was born two years later. Paul was a true Working Class Hero who wore many hats. Whether scooping ice cream at Brighams in Boston, plying his trade as a Union Pressman at the Boston Herald newspaper, driving a School Bus or training others to do so, calling Paul a hard worker would be a massive understatement. But Paul played hard, as well. He loved travelling, amassing gadgets, enjoying live and in-home entertainment and collecting toys. He owned a Batman EVERYTHING. His knowledge of movies and musicians was truly encyclopaedic, which rendered him unexpectedly cool. He was the guy who'd come through with surprise concert tickets, WWF seats, an action figure, a video game system. He was uncommonly generous.

Throughout the 1990s, Paul and Jeannette provided Foster Care for dozens of children, with great success, and, with this system's assistance, adopted Nick. During this time, they were presented with the Foster Parents of the Year award. Paul was a father figure to many of his sons' friends, as well. Throughout the late eighties into the mid nineties, the Murphy house was dually known by hardcore punks, skateboarders and the like, as 'The Chillpad', in a time where these things weren't even remotely socially acceptable. If someone needed to stay for an indefinite period of time, Paul accepted no payment, satisfied in knowing he'd provided necessary safety, food and shelter.

Once the elder Murphy sons had grown and moved to Florida, Paul and Jeannette ultimately settled in the Orlando area in 2012. It is here where Paul witnessed Mark and Eric's weddings, and became a grandfather, heavily leaning into collecting and distributing Happy Meal toys to give to them, forever with a GoPro in his hand. After Jeannette's passing in early 2024, Paul kept her memory alive by frequently playing her favorite songs and putting General Hospital on the TV before his naptime. He spoke about her often to his graciously appreciated Home Health Aide, Isabel, and his final housemates, Eric and Shana. In his final year of life, his chronic health issues, which he never complained about, improved and kept him out of the hospital, before ultimately taking an unfortunate turn.

Paul spent his days exactly as he pleased- watching television (even Wheel of Fortune, despite Ryan Seacrest taking over for Pat Sajak), playing video poker, surfing the net, adding to his massive movie collection, insisting he felt fine to whomever asked, talking about his travels, sharing childhood stories, and eating more ice cream than he probably should have. Paul was an unassuming man who lived just as contently as he wanted. And he'd want all of us to enjoy life, as well as he did.

Paul's Memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 26 at Newcomer Funeral Home. His cremains will be settled in the Military Cemetery at Cape Canaveral, on a date soon to come.

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