Jill Collins Murphy

1931 - 2025

Murphy, Jill Collins

July 21, 1931 - February 28, 2025

With family at her bedside, Jill Collins Murphy passed into the arms of the Lord on February 28, 2025. She was warm and loving with empathy for every person who crossed her life. For Jill family was more than a virtue, it was an imperative. She was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, mother-in-law, grandmother and great grandmother, friend and neighbor. Born on July 21, 1931, Jill was a devoted Catholic. She grew up in St. Gabriel parish in St. Louis, and was a proud graduate of Visitation Academy (Class of 1947). Jill was a longtime parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes in University City. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Bernadine Poepping Collins, sisters Jane Shank and Judy Krewson (Mike), brother Jack Collins (late Cathy), first husband Thomas W. Oldham, husband William R. Murphy Jr, and by her dear daughter Margaret Backus (Richard). Surviving children are Christine Kaemmerer (Christopher), Cathleen (late Vince Coode), Thomas (Kathy), John (Linda), Mary (Bill Scholin), and James (Anne). Jill dearly loved her children, 13 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. She called each of them every year to sing happy birthday, a gift unfailing over decades. She loved all her nieces and nephews in the Mullally, Nolan, Bowey, Dempsey, Shank, Collins and Krewson families as her own. Jill lived her final years in the facilities operated by the Cardinal Ritter Senior Services, a mission of Catholic Charities. There she attended mass daily, made new friends, and received warm, compassionate and dignified care, always meeting her growing needs. Her family is eternally grateful. Please offer a gift to Catholic Charities to honor her memory.