Jean Murphy

Jean F. Murphy VIRGINIA BEACH - Jean Ford Murphy, 82, died Feb. 16, 2008. Jean was born in Tiger, Ga., the daughter of Harold and Ora Arrendale. She was a descendent of Dr. Pierre Chastain, a French Huguenot who emigrated to Virginia in the 1680s. This quiet, pretty Georgia farm girl grew up to become a community activist and a world traveler. While attending the University of Georgia, Jean met her first husband John Ellsworth Ford, a dashing young naval aviator on his way to the Pacific in World War II. They were a great team and Jean was an active Navy wife through three decades of Naval service, culminating in Capt. Ford's command of Naval Air Station Oceana in the early 1970s. They were married for 54 years until his death in 1998, and were blessed with three children. Jean married Capt. Joseph J. Murphy, U.S. Navy retired in 2003. They shared a full life of travel, community service and a love of the arts and theater. In recent years, she divided her time between her longtime home in Virginia Beach and The Villages, Fla. Jean was known for her devotion to diverse causes and was active in numerous local and national organizations. She represented Virginia as a delegate at the 2004 Republican National Convention and had served as president of the Virginia Beach Republican Women's Club and the Princess Anne Republican Women's Club. She was active in the Military Officers' Wives Association, the Association of Naval Aviators, Galilee Episcopal Church, Lee's Friends and the Virginia Federation of Republican Women. She was also a talented businesswoman and one of the owners of Braeford's Ltd., a successful Virginia Beach ladies clothing store operated for almost 20 years. Most importantly, she was "Jee Jee" to four generations of family, a wonderful homemaker and beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who shared the joys and events of their lives to her last day. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed. In addition to her husband, Jean Ford Murphy is survived by her sister, Irma Howell of Alpharetta, Ga.; her daughter, Donna Redd of McLean, Va.; her sons, Anthony Ford of Louisville, Ky., and John Ford of Chevy Chase, Md.; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in Galilee Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Galilee Episcopal Church, 3928 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23451 and Lee's Friends, 618 Stockley Gardens, Norfolk, VA 23507.