John A. Murphy Jr.

John A. Murphy Jr. Belvidere resident, proofreader, WWII vet; 83 LOWELL John A. Murphy Jr., 83, a World War II Veteran, formerly of Boston's South End, and a longtime resident of the Belvidere Section of the City, died Aug. 23, after a short battle with cancer. He was the widower of Catherine (Castrios) Murphy who died in 1985. Mr. Murphy was born on June 10, 1924, in Springfield, Ohio, and was educated in that area. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, John, who had entered St. Gregory's Seminary intent on a vocation in the Priesthood, left the Seminary and attempted to join the Armed Services. At a height of five foot five inches, Mr. Murphy, was denied by all four branches of the Military before a second application to the Marine Corp. was accepted and with whom he fought admirably in the Battles of Guam and Okinowa. Upon his honorable discharge after the War, he spend some time in a Monastery and where he was known as Brother Aloysius. Upon leaving Monastery life behind him, Mr. Murphy settled in Boston's South End where he worked at Boston College High School High School before working for many years for Lowell's Courier Citizen, as a proofreader, as well as for Bateman and Slade Legal Printers in Boston. For the past 45 years, Mr. Murphy lived in Lowell and was a devoted and faithful parishoner of Immaculate Conception Church. He was a member of Mt. Pleasant Golf Club, the Knights of Columbus, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the Pulaski Club and the Sac Club. He enjoyed reading and was a great lover of jazz music. He is survived by two sons, Tom J. Murphy and his wife, Karen, of Lowell, and Paul F. Murphy of Boston; a grandson, Zachary J. Murphy of Lowell; and a brother, Richard Murphy of Sarasota, Fla. YOU ARE INVITED TO HIS CALLING HOURS 2 UNTIL 6 P.M. ON SUNDAY. ON MONDAY, HIS FUNERAL WILL BEGIN AT 8 A.M. AT THE McDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND ST., LOWELL (978 OR 800) 458-6816. HIS FUNERAL MASS WILL BE OFFERED AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH AT 9 A.M. BURIAL IN ST. MARY CEMETERY. MEMORIALS IN HIS NAME TO MERRIMACK VALLEY HOSPICE, 360 MERRIMACK ST., BLDG. 9, LAWRENCE MA 01843. E-CONDOLENCE SITE WWW.MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM