A Charmed Life

By Donald William Murphy

This book is meant to be a treasury of memories for the friends and family of Bill Murphy. In many ways it captures his wit, his struggles and his love for all. He includes poems and a song that he has written as well as many of his favorite humorous anecdotes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973689096

Donald William Murphy

Donald W. (Bill) Murphy tells the story of his life, from early days in the shadow of New York City, his training in the Army, falling in love, raising a family and growing old, all under the watchful care of the Divine. Bill credits God for every blessing that has come his way and trusts Him for what lies ahead.

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A Charmed

LIFE

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Donald William Murphy

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Copyright © 2020 Donald William Murphy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8908-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8909-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/13/2020

CONTENTS

1.   Pleasant Memories

2.   Port Chester

3.   Mount Vernon

4.   Alyce

5.   Faith in God

6.   After The Prep

7.   Army Days

8.   Jean McDonald

9.   Fordham University

10. My First Job

11. Emerson, New Jersey

12. Neighbors

13. Some More about Jean

14. Langhorne, Pennsylvania

15. Observations on Life

16. Mount Vernon Day

17. In Closing

Other Works by D.W. Murphy

PREFACE

I call this book A Charmed Life because so many things happened in my life that could have been disastrous, but, by the grace of God, weren’t.

For instance, once while I was flying on a B-29, the pilot had just entered the landing pattern at 800 feet when an engine caught fire. That was too low for us to jump out (with parachutes), so I said a much needed Act of Contrition. The pilot activated a little control within easy reach of his right hand called Fire Extinguisher-Engine #2. The fire went out; we continued to land. I read later that these fires were frequent on the B-29, and sometimes they didn’t go out.

Besides being knocked down by a speeding car, there was the Depression, the war, and foolish behavior that could have been serious, but wasn’t. I am now 95.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

T his work was initiated at the suggestion… nay, recommendation… nay, urging…nay, persistent prodding of my son, Michael. He even gave me chapter headings as a guide. I think he wanted to give me a mental exercise. I didn’t think I had much to say, but it was a joyful effort.

Thanks Mike!

FOREWORD

D onald William (Bill) Murphy was born on May 9, 1925, in Harrison, NY to Arthur G. and Ethel Harris Murphy. He is the youngest of six children – Francis, Ethel, Jeanne, Robert and Alyce. He was married to Jean Patricia McDonald Murphy for 50 years from 1950 to 2000.

Bill married Jean Patricia McDonald of Mount Vernon, NY on 30 Dec 1950. Together Bill and Jean have seven children: William A. Murphy; Michael J. Murphy; Patricia A. Condron; Peter J. Murphy; Mary M. Saglimbene; Joseph P. Murphy and Gerry L. Kennelly. Bill and Jean have 18 grandchildren: Aaron, Paul, Peter, Linda-Lee, David and Andrew Murphy; Kelly, Sheila and Jeff Condron; Matthew, Patrick, Luke and Holly Murphy; Cara, Jeanine, and Nick Saglimbene; Kayla and Kelsey Kennelly. Bill and Jean have fourteen great grandchildren: Braden Murphy (Pete, Patrick); Madeline, Adele and Ashton Murphy (Mike, Paul); Anna Kate, Ezra and Ava Claire Murphy (Mike, Aaron); Elias Mitchell Murphy (Mike, Andrew); Colin and Cassidy Shehan (Pat, Sheila); Connor and Alyssa Murphy (Pete, Matthew); Elijah Murphy (Pete, Luke); Wyatt Keith Kennelly (Gerry, Kayla). Bill and Jean lived most of their life together in Emerson, New Jersey. They moved to Langhorn, PA in 1992 where they lived for eight years. In December 2000, Jean died.

Bill graduated from Fordham Preparatory School and Fordham University in New York. He served two years in the U.S Army during World War II, training as an aircraft crew member. He worked for Diebold bank-equipment company for 30 years as a salesman. He also worked for Cutler Industries selling ATM Kiosks internationally for five years.

In June 2001, Bill married Ada Lou Galigher Rivers of Virginia Beach, VA. At that time Bill became the step Father of Lynne Oliver, Lee and Larry Rivers. He also became the step grandfather for: Kimberly, Christopher and Melissa Rivers; and Ryan and Tara McNamara. Bill also became step great grandfather for Elizabeth and Alexa McNamara (Lynne, Ryan), Kaylee and Connor (Lee, Kimberly) and Andrew and Ava (Lee, Christopher). Bill and Lou live in Virginia Beach, VA in the summer and Hobe Sound, FL in the winter.

Bill has enjoyed life thoroughly by helping others enjoy it too. He has a special love for anyone less fortunate than he is. He always has a kind word for anyone experiencing loss or disappointment. He would share anything he had with anyone he met. He would give anything he had to anyone who needed it more. He loves God, His Church and his fellow man.

Bill has been a Believer in God, Student of Life, Soldier in Time of War, Lover of Peace, Father of Seven, Grand Father, Great Grand Father, Salesman Par Excellence, Friend to All, Husband of One Wife Twice, Painter, Poet, Song Writer, Partner, and Pal. He is a constant source of inspiration and love. I hope you will enjoy reading about his life.

We have left some blank pages at the end of the book. If Bill Murphy wrote you a poem and you kept it, paste it right there and consider sending me a copy for the next edition.

Mike Murphy

PLEASANT MEMORIES

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I t seems like a long time ago, and for a good reason… it was. Harrison, New York was a quiet, gentle retreat from the hub-bub of New York City in the early 1900’s, only 15 miles away from the Big Apple. Forty three Danner Avenue was my abode when the world first greeted me on May 9 th , 1925. My father had bought that house only a short time before. My two brothers and three sisters all started their lives in New York City, in the Fordham section of the Bronx; two different worlds, really. The house on Danner Avenue rested on a modest sized lot near the bottom of the street’s shallow slope, with only the Cramers past us, before Danner ended in a T. A left turn took you only one block to Coakely Avenue. A right turn would lead you under the New Haven Railroad trestle and then on to Halstead Avenue, the main North-South road in town. Although Harrison was rural at the time, Danner Avenue was paved and had sidewalks on both sides of the street. Rows of mature maple trees occupied the space in the grassy area that separated the road and sidewalk, intertwining high above to give us cool shade and soft light. The Tylers lived on the south side of us, with probably a one hundred foot interval, the same as on Cramers’ side. These spaces today are filled in with more residences. Many were the sleigh rides enjoyed by the Tylers and Murphys between those two