Ronald Lee Murphy

Services for Ron Murphy will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2023 at Hilliard Funeral Home, 386 N. Maple, Van, Texas 75790 with visitation starting at 1:00 p.m. A graveside service will follow at Edom Cemetery, with Reverend Nick Sholars officiating. A memorial service will be held in Dallas Prestonwood Baptist Church of Plano in the chapel on December 14, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.
Ronald Lee Murphy was born January 17, 1938 in Edom, Texas to the late Shannon Joseph Murphy and Ada Pearl Slaton Murphy. He had been a resident of Carrollton, Texas for many years and was a member of the Prestonwood Baptist Church of Plano. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard for seven years. Ron loved sports from an early age and played football and baseball at Van High School, Paris Junior College and Austin College. He later served as a graduate assistant coach at Austin College. He also served as president of the Alumni "A" Association and remained very active in the athletic department. After graduation, Ron was a coach and teacher at W.T. White High School in Dallas.
Ron was a frequent speaker at many Christian men's organizations and participated in Coaches Outreach Ministry, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, The Big Brother/Big Sister project and assisted Carrollton Police Department with their annual campaign for underprivileged children.
For over 30 years, he was a sports official for college football and inducted into the Athletic Hall of Honor in 1996. Ron worked 21 of those years in the Southwest Conference, officiating 15 major bowl games, including the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, and Rose Bowls. He also was an official for the Big 12 Conference and spent three years officiating in the NFL.
Ron owned Ron Murphy & Associates, Inc., a wholesale sports apparel marketing company, and was awarded several national honors as a top salesman. Under the name "Murphy Creations", he also drew illustrations for Christian children's books, sports book, and magazines. In 2012, he had the honor of having his "Murphy's Illustrated Guide to Football Officials Signals" hung in the officials dressing room at the new TCU Football Stadium.
Ron was the family historian. He knew who everyone was in every picture and had a "tale" to share about them. He always had a rapt audience at family gatherings including the Murphy Men's Retreats as he shared stories from growing up, playing sports, going on trips and of course their favorites were amazing stories from all the football games he called as an official. He also never forgot a birthday or anniversary and always sent a card, typically with a cartoon added.
Ron passed away at the age of 85 on November 26, 2023 in Athens. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Shannon and Ada Murphy; sister and brother in law, Rae and Wayne Medlin; and brother and sister in law, Joe Basil and Pat Murphy.
Survivors include his nephew, Joe Mike (Cindy) Murphy of Athens; niece, Patti (Don) Mullen of North Richland Hills; great-nieces and nephews Seth (Megan) Murphy, Jennifer (Chet) Clayton, Adele Jones, Melissa (Doug) Mullen-Risavy, and Carrie (Chandler) Growald and ten great-great nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be Larry Murphy, Craig Murphy, Steve Murphy, Kevin Murphy, Seth Murphy, and Chet Clayton.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Coaches Outreach Ministry, 14140 Midway Rd, Suite 102, Dallas, Texas 75244 or Edom Cemetery Association, C/O Cindy Edwards, 600 FM 2339, Ben Wheeler, Texas 75754.