Donald Lee Murphy

September 10, 1930 - November 17, 2014

Donald L. Murphy Torrington, Wyoming -- Donald L. Murphy, 84, passed away in the comfort of his home on November 17, 2014. A memorial Mass will be celebrated for Don on Saturday, November 22, 2014, at 10:00 AM, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church with the Rev. Father Raymond Moss officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery next to his wife of 54 years. Cremation has taken place. Memorials can be made to the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church or Knights of Columbus of St. Rose. “Don” Murphy, son of Rolla Murphy and Ruby Tyler Murphy, was born September 10, 1930, to parents who moved to Goshen County in the years before his birth. Don worked to help his family throughout his childhood and attended Torrington High School. He also served in the U. S. Army while stationed in Japan during the Korean War. Soon after his discharge, he met and married Bernice Martin in 1954. He courted her at the soda parlor in which she worked on Main Street.  In the early years, he worked for McCreery Lumber Yard with his older brother Lowell until the two founded Plains Building Supply in Torrington, which operated for several decades. A typical Wyoming man, Don enjoyed working with his hands. He built and expanded many times, the family home in which he and Bernice raised five children on the east side of town. He also enjoyed the pastimes of hunting and fishing. These were hobbies that he shared with his children and grandchildren. Many homes and businesses in Torrington today were built by Don years ago. He had a reputation for his hard work ethic and willingness to help his friends. His gift for funny and colorful phrases, also known as “Wyomingisms,” have entertained his family over the years. Don did not often leave the town in which he was born, but when he did, it was to spend time with family. This included a wide array of camping, hunting and fishing trips, and vacations. From fishing for salmon in the cold waters of Alaska to touring the Caribbean and Mexico on cruises, Don saw a lot. However, he still came back to Torrington, the town he always called his home.   There will forever be a gap in the front pew of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Don attended Mass almost every week since converting to Catholicism. That is the same church in which he and many of his children were married. Don was a Fourth Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus and served as a Grand Knight for the Torrington Chapter.  Don is survived by three daughters, Shea Murphy and her partner Joanie Rouse, both of Torrington, Alyson Stroup, her husband Randy and their son Douglas, of Apache Junction, Arizona, and Patty Schmitt, her husband Stephen and their sons Patrick and Samuel of Chadron, Nebraska; two sons, Martin Murphy and his wife, Peggy of Casper, and Timothy Murphy, his wife Maureen and their children Breana and Brogan of Mill Creek, Washington.