Thomas M. Murphy, 69

Thomas M. Murphy passed away on Dec. 20, 2017 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center following a short illness. He was surrounded by his wife, son and local family.

He was one of four sons born Sept. 5, 1948 to Herbert and Arvilla Murphy in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After high school, Tom served in Vietnam as a tank commander following basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia.

In 1969 he married Barbara Husby and they later divorced after son Wayne was born. He was married in 1998 to his wife Jan DeBor and they resided in St Louis Park, Minnesota until 2004 when they moved to Kalispell to be close to Wayne and his growing family.

In Minnesota, he was a police officer with the St. Cloud and Hopkins Police Department. He also worked for Graco Corporation for several years as manager of their distribution centers in Minnesota. While in Kalispell, he was self-employed as a handyman, most recently at The Loading Dock. He took great pride in his work and was respected for his work ethic and a job well done.

A private and reserved man, he was always very proud of his son and family. He enjoyed sharing stories with his grandchildren about his Minnesota childhood. Special interests through his life included hunting and fishing as well as using his mechanical talents. As a younger man, he enjoyed motorcycling and also built and maintained his own race cars and relished the thrill of winning.

His parents preceded him in death. Tom was survived by his wife, Jan; son, Wayne (Vicki); grandchildren, Jeffrey, Megan and Kaitlyn. Brothers, Jerome (Julie), Michael (Lee), and Terrance (Deborah) and several nieces and nephews.

Buffalo Hills Funeral Home is assisting the family and no local services are planned. Following cremation, a memorial service will be planned later with his Minnesota family.

If desired, memorials are requested to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Friends are encouraged to visit our website at www.buffalohillfh.com to leave notes of condolences for the family.

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory caring for the family.