Obituaries

Sr. Teresa Mary Murphy Dies

Sister Teresa Mary Murphy, BVM, 93, died Sept. 2, 2008 at Marian Hall, Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be Sept. 9 from 9-11 a.m. in the Marian Hall Chapel with a prayer service at 11 a.m. The funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. with burial in the Mount Carmel cemetery.

Sister Teresa taught at Immaculate Conception, Butte, Mont.; St. Philip, San Francisco, Calif.; and St. Cecilia, Portland, Ore.

For 45 years she ministered in Washington as teacher at St. John and St. George, Seattle, and St. Pius X, Mountlake Terrace, where she was also parish visitor.

Sister Teresa Mary was born Sept. 24, 1914 in Seattle, Wash., to Thomas and Ellen Eldred Murphy. She graduated from Holy Angels Academy before entering the BVM congregation on Sept. 8, 1932. She professed first vows on march 19, 1935 and final vows on Aug. 15, 1940.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters Leona, Loretta, Irene, Mary, and Sister Margaret Murphy, OP; and brothers Leo, Thomas, James, Bernard, William, Francis and Michael Murphy. She is survived by a sister, Sister Ellen Murphy, BVM, and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 75 years.

Memorials may be given to the sisters of Charity, BVM Retirement Fund.

Sister Teresa Mary Murphy, BVM (Felicita)

Funeral Reflections by Eileen Healy, BVM, Marian Hall Chapel, September 9, 2008

Welcome to the family and friends of Sister Teresa Mary who have joined us today in this celebration of the life of our Sister and friend.

In today’s reading from Scripture we hear God saying: “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Teresa Mary was born the twelfth of fourteen children to Mary Ellen Eldred and Thomas Murphy on September 24, 1914 in Seattle, Washington. Both of her parents had been born in Wisconsin. Teresa Mary attended Kingston Public School, St. Mary’s and Immaculate Conception grade schools, and Holy Angel’s Academy for high school. She entered the congregation from St. John’s Parish in Seattle.

Teresa Mary joined her sister Ellen in our Novitiate on September 8, 1932. She was received on March 19, 1933 receiving the name Sister Mary Felicita. Professed on March 19, 1935 she was assigned to Immaculate Conception Butte, Montana where her sister Ellen taught. The provincial did not realize that the two Murphys were sisters! Teresa Mary spent eight years in Butte, three years at St. Philip’s San Francisco and the rest of her long teaching career was spent in the Great Northwest - in Portland, Oregon, Seattle and Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

In her letter to Mother Mary Gervase, Teresa Mary wrote that she wanted to serve God ‘as perfectly as possible’. This has been the characteristic which best described Teresa Mary’s life. She always performed her tasks as perfectly as possible, whether it was baking a lemon meringue pie, planning a special feast day for the sisters with whom she lived, painting a spiritual bouquet for the bishop or pastor, fixing her classroom, teaching her students or caring for her beloved older sister, Leona. Everyone received from Teresa Mary her best, as Ellen said, “Good enough was not in her vocabulary”.

Whatever cross this quest for perfection was for Teresa Mary, she never imposed it on others. Although, she had extremely high standards for herself, her local community, her students, friends and family were given the greatest leniency. For Teresa Mary, there was always a good reason why people acted as they did. Today, we rejoice with Teresa Mary because she has fulfilled her promise of 76years ago. She has done her best, she has served God and all of us as perfectly as possible. She has been called by name.

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