Remembering Gary 'Murph' Lynn Murphy: Dedicated Public Teacher, Philanthropist and Beloved MCC-D Church Member
Gary (Murph”) Lynn Murphy of Birmingham, 89, died Aug. 3, 2024 at a rehabilitation facility in Bloomfield Hills after a brief hospitalization. He was born in Shepherd, Michigan on Oct. 28, 1934 and was the fourth of seven children born to Viola (nee Bush) and Alphonsus Murphy. He graduated from Shepherd High School in 1952 and went on to Central Michigan University. He later joined the U.S. Army and served two years in Germany. His army service also included two summers as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. He was honorably discharged Aug. 31, 1963.
Murph, who was awarded a Pride Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2005 Pride Source Banquet, received his teaching certificate from Wayne State University in 1970 and went on to receive a master's degree in 1972. He was a dedicated elementary school teacher in the Detroit Public School system for his entire career. “Murph was an excellent teacher and the kids liked him a lot,” said Gary Madden, former principal at Brewer Elementary in Detroit, where Murph taught.
Murph remained involved at Wayne State University in the alumni organization and in the College of Education, and in 2002, he and his husband created a scholarship fund for aspiring teachers. The Gary L Murphy and BC Cabangbang endowed scholarship was established to recognize scholastic achievement, encourage continued progress and provide financial help to students in the College of Education at Wayne State University. The endowment has awarded over $64,000 in scholarships.
Murph was politically active and a staunch Democrat. He enjoyed touting his distant familial relationship with the late Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy. Also, Frank Murphy had been appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Governor General of the Philippine Islands from 1933-1935 and was the first High Commissioner to the Philippines from 1935-1936. Murph would wryly joke that his family connection to Frank Murphy had influenced many of his life decisions, especially his choices politically and of course with his love for BC, who is from the Philippines.
Murph loved to cook and entertain. He also loved gardening, sports, travel and music. He especially liked to attend performances by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Opera. He was a legendary host. “Murph loved really large, eclectic house parties,” said his longtime friend John DiLodovico. “Gay, straight, old, young, men, women, Democrats, republicans — a true rainbow of people. He had a genuine interest in everyone he met and would want to know as much about their life as possible. He enjoyed wine and company and made you want to stay at his home well into the evening.” Murph and BC regularly hosted election night parties. Some were celebrations — some communal sorrow. But all were engaging and full of wine and great food.
Murph had a deep faith and was an active member of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. “He came from a large Catholic Irish family and enjoyed sharing his family with his friends. In that community spirit, his church was an integral part of his life,” said DiLodovico.
Murph is being remembered by many as a kind, generous and thoughtful friend. Madden and he were close during their teaching days. “He and I became friends carpooling to work — he lived in Birmingham and I lived in Royal Oak. We had a lot in common. Teaching, of course, but we also both owned real estate and we helped each other with fix-up projects. He and I spent about a week rebuilding his mother’s front porch in Shepherd. He was a very good friend, and a great listener — probably my best friend in those years,” said Madden.
“I was moved by how good and kind Murph was with his younger brother, Michael, who was handicapped,” said Joanne Osmer, an administrator at Wayne State’s College of Education and a frequent guest at Murph and BC’s parties. “I went with Murph one time to visit his family home and he told me stories about how his parents had taken in refugees during WWII. He said it had instilled in him a need to help others and to serve.”
“I remember how he loved to reminisce about our hometown of Shepherd where he had a paper route as a boy,” said Murph’s sister Barbara. “He liked playing jokes on all of us. He had a great sense of humor. After my husband died we went on a few mystery trips together. He was always kind.” She said Murph still knew all the older folks in Shepherd and would regularly visit them.
Murph is survived by his life partner of over 33 years and husband since 2015, BC Abad Murphy Cabangbang, by his sister, Barbara Hofweber of Grand Rapids and by his beloved dog, Jaz. Murph is also survived by 20 nieces and nephews; Patricia Guili, Phillip Smith, Janet Grimm, Kevin Smith, Emily Hatchard, Connie Spaulding, Joseph Sleeper, Chuck Sleeper, Thomas Sleeper, Jane Sleeper, Marlene Gould, Phil Hofweber, Susan Dewan, Lisa McCambridge, Sally McCullough, Jack Hofweber, Marty Decker, Russell Decker and Gayle Decker, Colleen Murphy and many great nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and five of his siblings; Rosemary Smith, Virginia Ann Sleeper, Richard Murphy, Susan Decker and Michael Murphy.
Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit will host a memorial service at 1 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany St., Ferndale.
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