David H. Murphy, Sr.

David H. Murphy, Sr. 

August 9, 1936 – February 20, 2025

David Murphy, 88, died on February 20, 2025 at his home in Wilsonville, with his wife, daughter and son by his side.

He was born in Buffalo New York on August 9, 1936 to Roy and Lucille (Sadowicz) Murphy.   

David served in the United States Army, stationed at Fort Lewis, WA as a Heavy Vehicle Driver from 1955 to 1957.

He married Sandra Redick on November 9, 1957 in Las Vegas, Nevada.   Dave & Sandy prided themselves on creating a stable home environment for their 3 children, Maureen, David Jr. & Brian, in Portland, Oregon. When his kids were young, camping trips were a favorite way to spend vacations. These trips usually included adventures exploring the back roads of Oregon.   Dave was a dedicated little league baseball coach.   He loved spending time with his family, with Sunday family dinners being the highlight of his week.

David work for Northwest Natural Gas Company for 37 years, starting out in the service department and advancing in his career to tech support analyst before retiring in 1998.  Dave & Sandy spent their retirement cruising, square dancing and traveling in their RV.   

Coming from a family who had careers in the railroad, Dave was a railfan.  His Dad, Roy, was an engineer and worked on the now historical Nickle Plate Road.     

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Sandra Murphy, his daughter Maureen Parkin (David), his son Brian Murphy and his grandchildren, Stephanie Parkin and McKenzie Murphy-Thornton (Terese), great granddaughter Callison Murphy-Thornton and his beloved golden retriever, Korea.  

He was preceded in death by his parents and his son David Murphy, Jr. 

In Lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to Guide Dogs for the Blind, in honor of Korea who is a career changed from the GDB program and retired guide dog Telley, who David and Sandy adopted and cared for in his final years.  

Services will be held in private.