Susan Marie Murphy

Susan Marie Murphy, 47 CARLSBAD -- Known for her incredible generosity and warmth, especially toward the many neighborhood children, Susan Marie Murphy passed away on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, after a courageous two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. She was 47. Born Susan Marie Thompson on Jan. 28, 1961 in Encino, Calif., Susie was the youngest of Sidney and Lillian Thompson's four children. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was a graduate of Granada Hills High School. She worked as a clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles and later as an underwriter for Coast Federal Savings and Loan in Granada Hills. Susie married Robert Lowell Murphy of Pacific Palisades on Oct. 22, 1994 in Montecito, Calif. Soon after the birth of their first child -- Kaitlyn Scarlett on July 5, 1995 - they moved from Pacific Palisades to Carlsbad in 1996. Although the Murphys knew no one when they arrived, Susie's outgoing and welcoming personality soon turned their home into the neighborhood gathering place. Their second child, John Patrick, was born April 17, 1997. With a desire to always help others, Susie became an active volunteer at Aviara Oaks Elementary, where her children attended school. Taking on almost every job -- from fundraiser, to room mom, to playground supervisor -- she was beloved by the students and staff. Susie was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable cancer in October 2005. Doctors gave her a year to live. When word got out she was sick, prayer groups formed from Hawaii to Europe. The community to which she had given so much rallied to support her. Neighbors and friends brought food, sat at her bedside, provided homework and carpool assistance and helped the family in any way they could. In large part, that continuing encouragement and support helped Susie survive four major surgeries, a year of chemotherapy and countless painful hospitalizations. Despite her suffering, Susie's courage and graciousness were, and continue to be, inspirational to everyone who met her or knew of her illness, including the doctors and nurses who treated her. The full impact of Susie's life on others is yet to be known, but it is clear her story is still being written as friends and neighbors continuously converge on the Murphy home. They come with cakes, flowers and wonderful stories about their time with Susie and how she touched their lives. For her 40th birthday gift, the neighborhood children decorated a lifeguard chair with their names and handprints. Susie would watch over them as they played in her yard. Following her death, Bob set the chair on the front lawn, and friends memorialized Susie by placing flowers, candles, banners and notes on and all around it. Their daughter and a friend used the potted plants to create a garden there.It is fitting that Susie's passing was also on Pentecost Sunday, as the gifts of the Holy Spirit - understanding, knowledge, wisdom, counsel, courage and piety - were her genuine characteristics. Susie is survived by her husband, Bob; and their children, Katie and John. She is also survived by her brother, George Thompson; and two sisters, Marylou Kirch and Patricia Derry. She will be missed. "Just love." A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 22, at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 6628 Santa Isabel St., Carlsbad. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Elizabeth Hospice Foundation of San Diego in Susie's memory. Sign the Guest Book online obits.nctimes.com