Dr. John Joseph Murphy

1948 - 2016

His work here is done. On January 25, 2016 Dr. John Joseph Murphy (Seán Seosamh O Murchú) got an offer he could not refuse. He reunites with his father, Donal Joseph Murphy, his mother, Mary Ellen Murphy, and sister, Anne Prendergast, after a dignified and hard-fought battle with cancer.

Always the life of the party, or perhaps the "mind" of the party, Dr. Murphy was known for his wry Irish humor, love of learning, generous spirit, and devotion to his family.

Murphy was born in Cork City, Ireland on April 2, 1948. He was educated by the Presentation Brothers at Scoil Chríost Rí and Coláiste Chríost Rí where he excelled in both academics and athletics. He was captain of his Gaelic football team and a national debate champion, which poised him to be on the winning side of arguments over bedtimes, curfews and politics.

He earned a full scholarship to the National University Ireland at Cork, where he graduated with a medical degree in 1975. He did his internship and residency in emergency medicine at the North Charitable Infirmary. With dreams of "eggs benedict and Chaneueuf-du-Pape," he set off to make his fortune in America. Women from Kerry to Donegal were said to have jumped from the tallest buildings in Ireland upon receiving word of his departure.

In 1977, Murphy was recruited to practice general medicine in the Texas Panhandle town of Canadian. It was there he met his future wife, Karen Brock, at an oil patch party. Murphy then moved to Houston, where he practiced emergency medicine and later set up a general practice in Cleveland, serving the community for more than 30 years. Always the romantic, he asked Karen "to be buried with his people" at a varsity football game where he was on the sidelines as the team physician. The New Caney Eagles lost, but Murphy won and the two married on December 6, 1980. The couple eventually welcomed three daughters and raised them in Kingwood and The Woodlands. He later returned to Canadian, where it all began, ending his career on Main Street, in the same office that once housed his father-in-law's oil and gas company.

Murphy leaves behind Karen Murphy, his wife of 35 years, daughters Megan Clifton of San Francisco, Lauren Ferrara of Colorado Springs and Kathleen Murphy of Houston, granddaughters Augusta Clifton and Elle Ferrara, sister Lilian Gouttebessis of Bandol, France, as well as loving in-laws, nieces, nephews, and a host of long-time friends.

Family and friends celebrated his life on Monday, February 1, 2016 at Saint Anne Catholic Church in Houston, Texas. A reception honoring his colorful life was held at a nearby favorite pub with lots of Irish music, dancing, and toasts.

In lieu of flowers, read a poem, learn a new word, strike up a conversation with a stranger, give to a charity you cherish. Murphy would like that.