John W. Murphy

Deacon John W. Murphy, Jr.

The Rev. Mr. John W. Murphy, Jr., 91, passed away on October 20, 2025. He was the beloved husband of Anne (Pugarelli) Murphy, until her passing in 2014. Born in Scranton, he was the son of the late Chief Federal Judge John W. and Ella (Heffron) Murphy.

He is survived by two children, Deborah A. Fisher (Thomas) and John W. Murphy, III (Mihaela); nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughters Kathryn Murphy in 1993 and Susan McGuane (Mark) in 2017.

After being ordained in 1990, he served for some 24 years as a Deacon at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Sinking Spring. A retired veteran, he served some 25 years of enlisted and commissioned service in the United States Army during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. As a business executive in the Insurance Industry, he was a retired Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Essick & Barr, Inc.

A viewing will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025 from 6 p.m to 8 p.m. at Kuhn Funeral Home, 739 Penn Ave, West Reading, PA 19611. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Ignatius RCC, 2600 St. Alban's Dr, Reading, PA 19609, with burial to follow in St. Catherine's Cemetery, Covington Twp, PA.

 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John's honor to the Wounded Warriors Project at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc is honored to serve Deacon John's family. Condolences may be expressed at kuhnfuneralhomes.com.