Donald J. Murphy

Donald Joseph Murphy, 93, of Farmington, passed away peacefully Wednesday morning, November 1, 2017 at his home. He was the devoted husband of Bernice E. (Burkhardt) Murphy for the past 67 years. They were married on June 10, 1950.

Donald was born on December 3, 1923 in Lawrence, MA, son of the late Patrick J. and Annie (Pothier) Murphy. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, MA and later served in the Navy during WWII in the South Pacific as a Pharmacy Technician and Surgical Technician. Post WWII he attended St. Anselm’s College, graduating June 9, 1950.

He worked in the Aerospace and Defense Industries at Hamilton Standards, Avco Lycoming and Teledyne Industries. After several years in Connecticut, his work at Teledyne took them to live in Toledo, OH and Gainesville, GA. During many of these years he was a member of the American Management Association and he and Bernice traveled to several of their events around the country.

After retiring in 1989 he and Bernice moved to Ocala, FL where they spent 18 years before moving back to CT. He spent several years in the 60’s and 70’s as a member of the Knights of Columbus, reaching the 4th Degree. Don was an avid sports fan, watching many football and basketball games and every Olympics. He and Bernice played golf after moving from CT and enjoyed attending plays and shows. They loved to travel and visited all 50 states and several countries. His favorite times were spent with family at their cottage on Little Island Pond in New Hampshire working on improvement projects every year and teaching his children to swim and water ski and enjoying time with wonderful neighbors.

Besides his wife, he leaves 3 children, Joyce (Norman) Bechard, Patricia (Gerry) Mezzi and Michael Murphy; 7 grandchildren, Breanne (Michael) Sufrin, Nicole (Dan) Sawron, Norman (Samantha) Bechard III, Kyle (Sinead) Mezzi, Brian (Hilary) Mezzi, Stephanie (Johnathan) Park and Ashton Murphy; 5 great grandchildren, Kyle Bechard, Sydney Bechard, Hannah Sufrin, Ayden Park and Andrew Sufrin; and many nieces and nephews in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware and Tennessee. He also leaves his exceptional caregiver, Euda. He was predeceased by sisters Edna (Sister Ann St. Joseph), Cora Kilcoyne, Rita McAvoy and Grace. The family would like to thank the staff of Brookdale Farmington, Touchpoints and Village Gate for their care and support.

Visitation will begin on Monday, November 6, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. at O’Brien Funeral Home, 24 Lincoln Ave., Forestville/Bristol. A funeral service will begin at 3:00 p.m. followed by Military Honors. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. George Cemetery, 5 Durham Rd., Guilford, CT. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project PO Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8517 (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) or United Way of Greater New Haven, 370 James Street, Suite 403, New Haven, CT 06513. (www.uwgnh.org). To leave an online message of condolence, share a memory or a photo, please visit Donald’s memorial webpage at www.OBRIEN-FUNERALHOME.com.

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