Sylvia Murphy, 98

Sylvia B. Murphy, 98, died of congestive heart failure on March 2, 2015, under inpatient-hospice care at The HealthCenter in Kalispell, after a long and joyous life. She touched many people and will be dearly missed.

She lived in her own home on Flathead Lake, with help from many friends, until a week before her death.

Sylvia Josephine Brassett was born March 26, 1916, in Kalispell to Dr. Albert and Minnie Larson Brassett. She was delivered by her father, an early-day physician, at Sisters of Mercy hospital, just two blocks from the family home. Sylvia’s mother told her that her older brother, Arnold, delivered a hand-picked bouquet of yellow bells to the hospital and she always marveled that there could have been yellow bells in late March.

Sylvia grew up in Kalispell and graduated from Flathead County High School in 1934. She attended Carleton College for a year before transferring to the University of Minnesota, where she graduated in 1938 with a degree in journalism and social work. After college, she was employed by the Kalispell News and as a caseworker for the County Welfare Department.

After World War II broke out, she went to work for Consolidated Aircraft, which was building bombers for the war effort, then was hired by the American Red Cross and stationed at Camp Young, where Gen. Patton was training troops to go overseas. She recalled sleeping in a tent in the desert summer. It was during this time that she met a dashing young Army lieutenant, James Emmett Murphy, who was stationed at Camp Young.

After a brief courtship, Sylvia and Jim were married on May 16, 1944, in La Jolla, California. Jim was later transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington, where Sylvia continued to work for the Red Cross. After the war ended, the young couple traveled to Montana to visit Sylvia’s parents and decided to settle in Kalispell. Construction was just starting on the Hungry Horse Dam and there were opportunities for Jim to open a law practice in the booming town. Sylvia served as his first secretary and recalled that he earned $35 the first month of his practice.

Sylvia and Jim became an active part of the community and in 1947 welcomed their only child, Mary Pat. Sylvia loved being a mother and a homemaker, and enjoyed a wide variety of activities, including bridge, golf and participating in a bowling league. 

She was a lifelong member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and regularly attended the Lakeside Community Chapel for many years.

Sylvia was an active community volunteer, served as a Girl Scout leader, Sunday School teacher and was a member of the Library board and the Hockaday Museum board. She was a longtime blood donor to the Red Cross and was an active member of the Flathead County Republican Women. She always hosted at least one table at the annual Chocolate Extravaganza.

After moving permanently to their Flathead Lake home in 1978, Sylvia became fascinated with the history of Lakeside and wrote and published “Stoner Creek and Beyond” which tells the story of the town and the families who lived there in the early days.

Sylvia and Jim enjoyed a rich life filled with adventures and good friends and traveled extensively after Jim cut down on his law practice. They visited Africa, many countries in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Although Sylvia hated flying, she was always game to accompany her beloved Jim on these adventures. She once said that she thought he must have been Marco Polo reincarnated, so great was his love of travel.

After Jim died suddenly in 1990, Sylvia began a new phase of her life, adjusting to her widowed status with good grace and the positive attitude that marked her entire life. She said the best advice anyone ever gave her was to never turn down an invitation, and she said “yes” and embraced her new life. She traveled with friends, rediscovered a passion for golf, continued her volunteer efforts and delighted in her friends, old and new. She published a book Jim had written about growing up in Missouri titled “How Did It Get So Small?” and later published a second book of her own about a Lake Mary Ronan resort called “Follow the Fish to Camp Tuffit.”

She was an early supporter of the Museum at Central School and the Conrad Mansion, interests she maintained throughout her life. She was a 65-year member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood and was an active member of P.E.O. Chapter AB until the end of her life. She was a founding member of the Friendship Force of the Flathead Valley and remained an active part of the group even after she was no longer able to travel. She hosted travelers from around the world in her home, even into her 90s.

After losing her eyesight to macular degeneration in 2005, Sylvia was forced to stop driving and could no longer read, do crossword puzzles or play bridge, but she continued to live in her own home and adapted well to her limitations. When Dr. Roger Barth told her that she was experiencing a major life change and might become depressed, she replied, “I’m not going to be depressed. I have enough troubles without being depressed.” She adjusted to her new situation with her characteristic good humor and positive attitude. She ordered numerous books on tape, listened to the radio for her news and adjusted to having to ask for rides. She was able to resume playing bridge in her own home and had a foursome for lunch each Thursday. Her bridge companions looked forward to the delicious lunch she served and to an afternoon of cards. They graciously told her what cards they were playing.

Even though she could no longer see them, she oversaw beautiful plantings of geraniums each year and found great joy in the beauty that others saw in her flowers.

She continued to love making trips to Glacier Park and felt thankful that she was able to see well enough to enjoy the scenery and even spot an occasional bear. She loved the lake and the mountains and all the beauties of Montana.

Sylvia had a knack for making and keeping friends and was genuinely interested in everyone she met. We often joked that she could get the life story from a rock. Her zest for life and people was amazing. Her resilience in the face of health problems and the onslaught of old age was an inspiration.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, her husband Jim, and her dear cousin Eleanor Borg.

She is survived by her daughter, Mary Pat Murphy, of Kalispell; niece Barbara Hill, husband Bill, and daughters Linda and Tracy of Laguna Niguel, California; Jim’s nieces and their families, Nancy and George Davis of Beaumont, California, Gerald and Sally Fruhwirth of Palm Desert California, Karen Mitchell of Kansas City, Kansas, and Earleen Moore and her husband Jim of Laredo, Missouri.

We are eternally grateful to the cadre of friends and helpers who made it possible for Sylvia to remain in her home and to the caregivers at The HealthCenter who made her last week comfortable. Sylvia was a unique treasure.

Memorials are suggested to the Museum at Central School, Lakeside QRU, American Red Cross, the Conrad Mansion or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at Lakeside Community Chapel with the Rev. Dennis Reese and the Rev. Gary Cockrell presiding. A lunch will follow. Burial will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery, next to her husband and parents.

A celebration of her life is planned for what would have been her 99th birthday, March 26, at the Museum at Central School. 

To send a note of condolence to the family, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com, Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.