John Murphy

John C “Jack” Murphy, age 88, of Madison, WI passed away on August 18, 2020 at Agrace Hospice in Madison, WI.  Jack was born on April 17, 1932 in Mt. Horeb, the son of John F. Murphy and Dawn A. Sholts. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothea, his children Laurieann (Mark) Endres, Dawn (Mark) Fuchs, John (Leslie) Murphy, Patrick Murphy, Brice (J.J.) Murphy and Dan (Jessica) Murphy. He’s also survived by 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Jack graduated from Mt. Horeb High School in 1950 and from UW Madison with an undergraduate degree in history. He was involved in ROTC as an undergraduate and upon graduation, served in Germany during the Korean Conflict.  Following the conflict, he returned to UW Madison for his law degree, graduating in 1959. Jack pursued Dorothea Ives and married her on July 11, 1959 in Sturgeon Bay, WI. They met the night the Braves won the pennant. She would soon find out just how adventurous and exciting life with Jack would be.

In his early career he worked for the Social Security Administration in Chicago, as City Attorney for both Superior and Fond Du Lac, and also as Assistant District Attorney for Douglas County.  In 1968 he moved his young family to Madison, WI for a position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department for the State of Wisconsin.  In 1989 he retired and never looked back.

Jack was a family man through and through and a man of deep faith. As an only child, he wanted a large family, at one time telling Dorothea he would like to have a dozen children. They settled on half a dozen.

Jack’s passion for family was combined with his love of travel. A meticulous researcher of destinations, no stone was left unturned when it came to finding a new adventure. The annual family camping outings evolved from packing 6 “well behaved” kids, his wife and mother in a cozy pop-up camper (on some rather hair-raising adventures) to traveling throughout the states pulling a 30 ft camper with his wife, Dorothea, collecting bits of culture/history wherever they went. Rumor has it, he has a curio case full of Kachina dolls that his children can’t wait to get their hands on (Ha!)

Trips with Dorothea were especially plentiful after his retirement and included numerous trips to the southwest USA and abroad and individual fishing trips with his sons/grandsons to Arkansas. He shared his passion of travel with his daughters as well, taking several trips to Ireland in pursuit of the Murphy heritage. Traveling consumed them for the better of 32 years, until Jack’s stroke 2014.

Jack was a man of many hobbies and interests, including genealogy research, mission trips involving the indigenous people of Chiapas, wine making, rock polishing, Samoyeds, stamp/coin collecting, square dancing, Irish Set dancing and even clogging. Perhaps one of his more interesting hobbies was bee keeping. Starting with just two hives in his back yard, Jack grew the little enterprise to 85 productive hives throughout the area. Although the Murphy Honey Brand never quite became a household name, the endeavor provided further proof that Jack was a man of unique pursuits.

For the past 6 years Dorothea cared for Jack at home. Most recently the caring staff of Age at Home By Agrace, in combination with Jack and Dorothea’s six children, allowed him to bring his journey home. His final days were surrounded by the tender care of Agrace Hospice and his loving family.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11AM on Saturday, August 22 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 401 S. Owen Dr., Madison Wisconsin. Visitation will be held from 9 AM to 11 AM at Queen of Peace. All are welcome. Please wear a face covering. Please refer to Jack’s obituary on www.cressfuneralservice.com for a link to the streaming service. The committal service will be private, and a link to a live stream is available. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88557183418?pwd=YlpTMGp6Y0VEYWZPbWpqeEprdi9uUT09

Memorials may be made to two causes Jack felt passionate about, Options in Community Living (an organization providing support services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities) and Luke House (a meal-serving program for the poor in our community).