Marie Murphy

Marie Louise (Mary) Murphy died peacefully with loved ones by her bedside on July 3, 2021 in the care facility she had been living in for the past year and a half.

Mary was born July 19, 1921 to Louis and Marie Adelaide (Desoche) Phelan in El Paso, Texas.  She was raised with her 6 half-siblings from her mother (widowed) and their father, Alexandre Ricaud who was assassinated by Poncho Villa in 1916. Her mother was of French descent having been born and raised in a French agricultural colony in Veracruz, Mexico.  Her father was of Irish & French descent and born in Sacramento, California. The two married in El Paso after each had fled Parral, Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.

Mary did not have a traditional childhood having moved around a lot.  Her favorite time as a child was spent in Quebec, Canada where she attended a year of traditional schooling. She spent the majority of the rest of her education being taught at home.

She spent her teen years back in Parral, Mexico and in 1942 went to Mexico City to live with relatives.  Here she began working as a trilingual translator.  In 1945 she moved to Denver, Colorado with her mother and three half-brothers.  She continued working as a translator for the opposite side of the export company she had worked for in Mexico.

She married Martin Murphy in 1956 – they met at a USO dance while he was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was an Irish immigrant who passed through Ellis Island in 1927.  After his retirement from the Army in 1962, they settled in Lakewood, Colorado where they raised their three children.  Marie often talked about how grateful she was to have married into the Murphy family.

Mary continued to work doing language translations from her home as a freelance translator (English-French-Spanish).  For 20 years she did technical translations for the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency in charge of dams and irrigation projects in 17 western states. She felt this was the most rewarding work of her career.

Mary loved to travel and she passed this love on to her children.  It was always best to travel with her because she could speak the language and not seem like a typical tourist.  She was a warm and caring person who loved to have people come and visit.  She had her favorite spots to take all visitors so they could truly appreciate Colorado.

She was proceeded in death by her Father, Louis Phelan (1866-1939); mother, Marie Adelaide Phelan (1881-1953); husband, Martin Murphy (1905-1990); half-sister, Marie Therese Colson (1902-1994); half-brother, Alexander Ricaud(1905-1989); half-brother, Edouard Ricaud (1907-2007); half-brother, Maurice Ricaud 1909-1991); half-brother, Felix Ricaud (1911-2001); half-brother, George Ricaud (1916-1996) and grandson, Aaron Dean Clemons (2001-2002).

She is survived by her son, Tim Murphy and wife Rhonda; daughter, Lisette Clemons and husband Dean; daughter, Claudine Phibbs and husband Mike; grandchildren, Michael, Isaac and Megan all of Colorado and numerous Murphy nieces and nephews.

A viewing will be held on Mon. July 19, 2021 at 5:00pm with a rosary beginning at 6:00pm.  The funeral mass will be on Tues. July 20, 2021 at 10:00am.  All three events will held at St. Jude Catholic Church 9405 W. Florida Ave. Lakewood, CO 80232.

Interment will be at Ft. Logan National Cemetery 4400 W. Kenyon Ave. Denver, CO 80236 on Wed. July 28, 2021 at 11:00am.

Please click on the link below to see a recording of the Funeral Mass

https://bxcited.com/marielouisemurphy/