Clear, 41° F
(Oct. 2, 1933 – June 18, 2014)
Kevin Edwin Murphy died peacefully on June 18, 2014, with his children and grandchildren close by his side. He was 80.
Although life circumstances brought Kevin to Southern California to raise his family, he was always a true Wyoming cowboy at heart. Simple, proud, hardworking and easygoing, he would tell stories of growing up on the old Murphy farm. How, as per custom at the time, he and his brothers rode on horse to pick up their report cards on the last day of school, and how they would throw their straw hats into the combine after harvest time.
The 10th of 12 children, Kevin grew up in a small single-family home on the outskirts of his beloved Powell. He was a member of the track team and theater in high school, and worked at Kopriva, the local hardware store. He was a member of the graduating class of Northwest Community College in 1953.
He, along with six of his brothers, served in the military. Kevin served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. His time as an active-service member in the Army was cut short when his father unexpectedly became ill and his mother requested the release of him and his brothers to help with the fall harvest. He was granted an honorable discharge from the Army to be able to meet his family obligations back home.
From there he chose to focus on his education, first attending St. Benedict’s College in Athison, Kan., studying for the priesthood, then continuing his education at Denver Seminary, where he studied Latin and philosophy.
After serious consideration he left Denver Seminary and continued his education at University of Wyoming, earning a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, then a master’s degree in Spanish and Portuguese. It was during this time in Laramie that he met and married Patricia “Pat” Klug, and together they went on to raise five daughters.
They lived for a time in Nebraska, then Maine, and eventually settled in the Orange County area of Southern California.
In 1974 Pat died unexpectedly and Kevin went on to raise his five daughters by himself. He worked at various teaching positions and eventually as building maintenance supervisor for University of California Irvine.
In 1984 Kevin was blessed to meet and marry Patricia “Pat” Walton. Together, with her three children and his five daughters, they enjoyed 30 wonderful years of marriage.
After retiring from UCI in 1993, he and Pat were able to plan trips to places that held special meaning to each or both of them. Even more than traveling they enjoyed being “Grammie” and “Papa” to their ever growing lot of grandkids.
Papa loved pancakes and rhubarb pie, long walks and whittling away at wood with very simple tools. He loved Patricia in heaven and Patricia on earth. He was a man of honesty, integrity, humility and kindness. He lived a life of acceptance for all God had planned for him, a very full, rich life with kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters, great friends and lots of love to go around. He lived his faith and his values. He was a true angel here on earth. His family misses him terribly, but he will always be in their hearts.
Kevin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early ’90s.
He was interred at Good Shepherd Cemetery in Huntington Beach, Calif., next to Pat Klug.
