After years of fighting with failing lungs, my father lost his battle on Monday, November 25th, 2002 just before 4:00 in the morning.  This page provides a brief remembrance of his life.

Robert Frank Murphy was named for his father, Robert Murphy, and his grandfather, Frank Murphy.  He was born at 8 am on October 14, 1926, in Delhi, Delaware County, New York, the second child born to his parents that morning, and also their first and only son.  His twin sister, Robetta Dorothy Murphy, had been born one hour prior to his arrival.  He always kidded his sister by calling her the old lady - that hour cost her a lot in kidding over the years.

The picture immediately above is the earliest known photo of the twins, Robbie and Bobbie, in this case with their great grandmother, Izora F. Caldwell.  My grandmother was very close to her grandmother, Izora, so it was natural for Izora to be present to attend the birth of the twins and then to care for the children while Bob and Dorothy dealt with the illness and eventual death of their first-born child, Mary.

The senior Bob Murphy had been born in West Delhi, a few miles outside of Delhi.  He had moved to town about 1917 and continued to live in town with his new wife following their marriage in 1921.  Bob Murphy owned and operated the Public Service Garage in Delhi where he sold new cars and repaired cars.  By all accounts his business was very successful and provided well for his family.  Unfortunately, the depression years that started shortly after the birth of the twins, was not easy on businessmen such as my grandfather.  Bills piled up, customers didn't pay, and eventually he lost his business.

In 1931, after 6 months of looking for work, Bob Murphy answered an ad in a Binghamton newspaper for a mechanic who had his own tools to work for a garage in Whitney Point.  He traveled the 70 miles to Whitney Point, "auditioned" for the job, and was eventually hired.  Once his employment was guaranteed, he returned to Delhi and moved his family over the hills to Whitney Point. 

My father often told of spending his first night in Whitney Point at the Mary Wilcox tourist home, which later became the home of the village's library.  The 70-mile trip over the hills from Delhi, which today can be made in a little over an hour, in 1931 took nearly the entire day.

The move to Whitney Point started well enough.  Bob Murphy fixed cars, Dorothy Murphy cleaned houses, and the twins attended school.  In 1935,  however, things fell apart for the Murphy family and for everyone else in Whitney Point when the area was nearly destroyed in a huge flood.  My father always told about the night the waters rose and the family fled upstairs only to have the rapidly rising waters follow them.  In the morning they escaped from an upstairs window into a row boat to reach safety.

The Murphy family lost a lot and was faced with months of clean-up to get their lives back on somewhat of a normal track.  Bob and Dorothy drove the twins to Syracuse and put them on a train to Illinois to visit their grandparents (Dorothy's parents) while they worked to re-establish their home.  At only 9 years of age, the twins traveled a third of the way across the country all by themselves.

The remainder of the 1930's and 1940's were less difficult.  The twins continued in school, graduating from high school in 1944. 

Dressed for the prom:

On graduation day:

Graduation picture:

Immediately after graduation my father enlisted in the US Navy to help his country fight the Japanese in the Pacific.  On October 11, 1944 he entered active service, first at Sampson on the Finger Lakes of New York.  After basic training he spent 6 months in Oklahoma before moving on to San Diego.  While in San Diego waiting for a ship the war drew to a close.  He was honorably discharged as a Seaman First Class on July 24th, 1946 at San Pedro, California. 

The following pictures were taken in California sometime during his time there:

Following the war, he returned to Whitney Point, eventually starting work with a local telephone company.  In 1947 he joined the Carolina Farmers Telephone Company in Slaterville Springs, installing telephones in homes in the area.  He spent his weeknights at the home of the local telephone company owner, returning home to Whitney Point on weekends.

Following the death of his father in 1950, he returned to Whitney Point to live at home for 6 months before joining the Chenango-Unadilla Telephone Company (which later became the Continental Telephone Company; he remained there until his retirement in 1985).  As he had done in Slaterville Springs, he installed telephones in local homes and fixed telephone lines.  He also helped his mother at the local restaurant that she operated, cooking and cleaning and waiting on tables as needed.

In 1958 he dated and married one of his co-workers, an operator in the Whitney Point telephone office.  The couple became acquainted when my mother, the operator, would put through calls from Bob's mother to wake him up in the morning (he didn't like to get out of bed).  The couple honeymooned in the Adirondacks before settling into an apartment near the damn on the road to Upper Lisle. 

In the early 1960's, with the help of family friend, Roy Pier, Bob replaced his mother's barn with a brand new garage/apartment combination — a 2 car garage was downstairs and a roomy 2 bedroom apartment with a huge porch was upstairs.  The idea was to provide his mother with a steady source of income in her retirement.  The Murphy family rented the apartment from Bob's mother until 1966 when they moved into a new home, also built by Bob.

In the late 1960's, tired of climbing telephone poles, he tried for and got a job as an outside plant engineer, which meant that he planned and laid out installation of new telephone lines and major upgrade projects.

Like his father before him, Bob Murphy was always active locally and was very much a part of the local community.  His father was a volunteer firefighter in the 1940's so when he was able, the younger Bob also joined the fire department with his father.  He rose through the ranks and finally became Fire Chief.

He later joined the volunteers on the emergency squad, rescuing victims of accidents and other problems.  As part of this work, both he and my mother learned CPR and other first aid skills.  When the Village needed a new ambulance, Bob organized fundraising pancake breakfasts for the local community.  After numerous efforts enough money had been raised and an ambulance was purchased.  Bob flew to the factory that produced the ambulance, picked it up and drove it back to Whitney Point to enter service.

Bob ran for election to the local Village Board and was successful.  He served several terms as Village Trustee, eventually going on to be elected Mayor.  After his days as elected official were over, Bob took on the job of Village Clerk-Treasurer, a position that he held for many years.

In the late 1960's/early 1970's Bob became interested in several pieces of antique fire fighting equipment in the Whitney Point fire department.  In his spare time on weekends he brought them to his house and one by one refurbished them and painted them for display in local parades.

In the winter of 1970, Bob spent every Friday night at the local library pouring over all copies of local newspapers and other historical items.  In the spring of 1971 he produced the definitive volume on the history of Whitney Point, tracing the origin of the town in the late 1700's through to the present.  The volume is still in use today as a text for students of local history.  At the time of his death, Bob was at work on an account of the great 1935 flood that devastated Whitney Point.

In his free time, Bob was always active.  Following again in his mother and father's footsteps, he was an avid gardening, every summer growing roses that he shared with the entire neighborhood.  When he wasn't working on landscaping or home upgrades, Bob was an avid student of the American Civil War, devouring countless volumes on the subject.  He also spent hours in his workshop in the basement constructing things for friends and family.  His projects included intricate jewelry boxes, sewing caddies, and even a bunny rabbit table and chairs for his daughter.

In 1994, after more than 50 years of service to his community, Bob finally retired from Village work.  In the fall of that year, with his lungs severely damaged, Bob and his family moved to Florida in search of milder winters that were less taxing on him physically.

He died Monday morning, November 25th, 2002, just before 4 am at the Hernando-Pasco Hospice Care Center in Dade City, Florida.  Aside from his final week at the hospice, his family had provided for his care where he was most comfortable, in his own home.