Irene Estelle Murphy
December 22, 1923 - December 21, 2018
Obituary
Irene Estelle Murphy
Born December 22, 1923 and died peacefully December 21, 2018 a long time Seattle Ballard resident.
Her husband Tom, her parents, and 4 siblings preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter Sherry, son-in-law Steve, 3 grandchildren Carrie, Chris and Andy, 4 great grandchildren Nathan, Parker, Austin, Kate and her sister Beth
Irene Estelle Murphy passed away December 21, 2018 one day before her surprise 95th birthday party.
She was born in Tacoma, Washington December 22, 1923 to Clifford & Mayme Stevenson.
She grew up with 5 other siblings: Steven, Leland, Beth, Vernon, and Nadine. Her mother became ill and father could not work and take care of the 6 children so in order to keep the family together Uncle Alvie & Aunt Jen had them live on their farm in Enumclaw. Mom became her siblings “mom” as she was the eldest.
Irene worked at Pier 91 as a stenographer/secretary for the Navy where she met the love of her life
Tom. Tom would stop by and sit on the corner of her desk and beg her to go out with him. She finally
did and the rest is history. They were married in a California courthouse August 16, 1943, 9 days before he was shipped out to war. They were married for 63 years.
On July 25, 1947 they welcomed their daughter Sherry.
In the following years Irene was Girl Scout leader to her daughter’s troop 1367 and accompanied them on camping trips and earning their badges. She volunteered for the Orthopedic Guild doing philanthropic activities for Children’s Hospital and was an avid bowler with many 200+ games. She dearly loved taking care of the grandchildren throughout the years.
Irene is survived by her daughter, Sherry and son- in- law Steve, 3 grandchildren, Carrie, Chris (Xu), Andy (Angie) and 4 great grandchildren Nathan, Parker, Austin, Kate and sister Beth along with 15 nieces and nephews.
Family was most important to Irene and loved each unconditionally. Her fabulous cooking is missed along with her creativity in ceramics, crocheting and sewing.
My sincere condolences to you Sherry, and your family. I remember the fun your mom and mine had as girl scout leaders. She was always kind to me. Peace and fond memories, Janet Raymer
Thoughts are with your family. Irene was a strong, determined woman.
She did things her way right up to the end 🙂
She is with Uncle Tommy now.. Bless them both.
I enjoyed the 2 years I got to spend helping to care for Irene. She had a wonderful personality. My condolences Sherry.