Obituary of Timothy J. Murphy

Timothy Joseph Murphy, 67, of Danvers, beloved husband of Cynthia (Sobutka) Murphy, died early Tuesday morning at his residence after an eleven year courageous battle with leukemia. Mr. Murphy and his wife shared 43 years of marriage. In addition to his wife, he leaves two sons, Kenneth S. Murphy and his wife Laurie of Burlington, MA and Richard A. Murphy and his wife Nicole of Reading, MA and his daughter, Lynda T. Murphy of Charlestown, and his three grandchildren, Heather and Ryan Murphy of Burlington and Kelsey Murphy of Reading. He is also survived by his sisters, M. Susanne and her husband E. Peter Murphy of Newburyport, M. Virginia and her husband L. Christopher Dunn of Beverly Farms, and his brother William P. Murphy Jr. and his long time companion Karen Smith both of Peabody, his mother-in-law, Jennie (Kuva) Sobutka of Lynn and a sister and brother-in-law Francine and Edward Fialkowski of Peabody as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Tim was born and raised in Peabody, the son of the late William P. and K. Josephine (Moroney) Murphy Sr. He was a graduate of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, class of 1957 where he recently participated in his fifty year “Golden Eagle” celebration. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree form Suffolk University in Boston and a master of arts in school administration from Salem State College and was a graduate of the Professional School Administration Program at Boston College. He was a teacher, assistant principal and later principal in the Peabody Public Schools System for nearly 40 years. He taught at four different elementary schools and concluded his last six years as principal of the South Memorial School. Tim was very involved in a wide variety of sports throughout his life. He was a member of Peabody’s very first Babe Ruth Championship team (the Elks) and later played for numerous semi-pro baseball and basketball teams including St. Michael’s Club and the Green Barrel. He also enjoyed playing tennis for many years. Besides playing sports he also coached, umpired, refereed and was a part-time sportswriter for the old Peabody Times. He played every sport with passion and enthusiasm. Mr. Murphy served his military commitment in the 26th Yankee Division of the MASS. National Guard retiring with the rank of staff sergeant E6. He had a life-long interest in politics and actively participated in a number of local political campaigns. When Nicholas Mavroules was elected to a U.S. Congressman from the 6th Congressional District, Mr. Murphy took a year-long leave of absence from the Peabody School Dept and served as the local Federal Funds Coordinator for Congressman Mavroules. In 1994, he founded the Peabody High School Athletic Hall of Fame to honor the accomplishments of Peabody High student athletes. The committee honored Tim by inducting him into the Hall of Fame last November as the “Father of the Peabody Hall of Fame”. He was a long time member of the A.O.H. Div.11 of Peabody and a proud descendent of the Cadogan Clan of Bantry, Ireland. A Visitation will be held on Thursday from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 82 Lynn St., Peabody facility. His Funeral will be held on Friday at 10:00 AM in St. Richard’s Church, Forest St., Danvers, MA. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Hospice of No Shore, 10 Elm St., Danvers, MA 01923 or to St. John’s Prep General Scholarship Fund, Summer St., Danvers, MA 01923 in his memory.