Janet Murphy

Janet Murphy Obituary

The world lost a little bit of its glow with the passing of Janet Dunlap Murphy on January 30, 2015. She was born September 3, 1937 to Hilary and Ethel Dunlap in Portland, Oregon. Her grace and devotion to family along with her zest for life inspired all who were lucky enough to know her. With her red hair and sparkling blue eyes she lit up every room she entered. Patricia, Carol and Charles, her siblings, all enjoyed her passion and big heart.

Janet married the love of her life Edward James Murphy August 23rd 1958. Together they set off to South Bend Indiana where her husband attended Notre Dame and then out to Washington to Georgetown Law School before moving back to Portland. Janet and Edward had five children Kathy,Edward, Erin, Virginia and Patrick.

Under her calm exterior she exuded a steeliness full of strength and determination. It was her tenacity to overcome all obstacles that carried her through the loss of two children, Erin, 3, and Patrick, 20. She held her head high and lived a life filled with friends and family. It was that same determination that helped her battle Parkinsons.

She was actively involved in all her childrens lives coaching volleyball, leading brownie groups and stepping in to coach little league baseball when necessary. She spent countless hours on the side of the mountain helping at ski races.

She volunteered at Junior League performing puppet shows, dancing in the cabaret and helping at the Perry Center for Children. She loved everyone and held little judgement of those in need. She volunteered at the Juvenile Detention Center often bringing children home with her to spend time around her family. She often spent time with low income families bringing them necessities to get their feet on the ground. Her generosity spilled over to friends
and family never hesitating to lend a hand.

She loved adventure and welcomed a challenge. She ran several marathons, taught herself to swim at age 50, played tennis, and voyaged on many skiing and sailing trips. Whether it was Tuesdays at the Goose Hollow for crab salad, roaring pitch parties with all her buddies gambling their dimes away, Halloween masquerades,Christmas tea parties or Sunday night family dinners at Hal and Mike’s, Janet was always game for a celebration.

A graduate from the Holy Child Day School for girls, Janet surrounded herself with life long friends. Together she and her friends formed the “famous” Bermuda Club, roaming the streets of Laurelhurst. Years later they continued to meet annually to rekindle their friendships. Her love of life found her more best friends than any one person could imagine. Yet each one of those friends felt nothing less than her complete love. Many of her children’s friends shared a love for her as their second mother “the coolest mom”. She never hesitated to take them all to the mountains or the beach and spent many a Friday night carting her children and their friends around to drive-in movies or various teenage parties.

Janet loved her grandchildren with all her heart. She spoiled all 12 grandchildren with homemade oatmeal cookies and the largest Beenie Baby collection imaginable. She always wanted them over to her house and had all the latest toys and newest additions of every Harry Potter book as soon as they were released. She loved supplying her grandchildren with red, white and blue shirts for the 4th of July and Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies. She spent many hours playing pitch with her grandchildren.

Her favorite places to vacation were Gearhart and Palm Desert celebrating every 4th of July and Spring Break with her friends and family. On any morning she could be found running on the beach, her red hair sparkling from the light off the ocean. She spent hours collecting sand dollars and building sand castles with her grandchildren.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Janet fought the challenge of all challenges. Her determination and strength carried her through some tough times with her husband by her side cheering her on throughout it all. Together they faced this with humility and grace never complaining, always looking for a way to make things easier. Their enduring love and commitment to each other grew stronger as this degenerative disease progressed, eventually taking her to be with her family in heaven. Janet never stopped loving life and fought hard to be a part of it. She will be greatly missed.

A rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 6, 2015 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 3525 SW Patton Road, Portland, OR 97221.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, February 7, 2015 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 3525 SW Patton Road, Portland, OR 97221.

Services

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One reply on “Janet Murphy”

Dear Dunlap Family,
I am so sorry to have read of your loss. Please accept my sincere condolences. Something that I have personally found to be of great comfort are the thoughts expressed at John 5:28,29 as well as Revelation 21:4. In these verses we find a wonderful hope for the future in which the causes we now have for suffering, including sickness and death, will no longer exist. Knowing this has always comforted me and it is my sincere hope that these thoughts comfort your family as well. Again I am so sorry for your loss.

Rebekah