Rachel Murphy

Rachel Morris Murphy,85, passed away peacefully in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 29, 2022. Born in Coventry, England, she was a little girl during the bombings in World War II.  She often told of how, after bombs had blown out the glass from the windows, the milkman would much to her delight, hand her the milk through the empty window frame.

A graduate of Warwick School of Nursing, she set sail for the United States to work as a nurse at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, in 1961.  There she met Jerome Murphy, then a medical student. They were married on June 28, 1963. Her married life brought her to many places: New York City, where the couple’s eldest son George was born in 1964; Tehran, Iran, where she developed a lasting appreciation for Persian food, and more importantly, their son John was born in 1966; Boston, where their daughter Katherine was born in 1968; Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, where she disliked the cold winters but maintained a warm and welcoming home fit for gatherings of friends and loved ones; and Kansas City, MO in 1986.  Throughout these moves, Rachel taught her children croquet, took family camping trips, and demonstrated unparalleled organizational skills and unwaveringly supportive motherhood.

In 1991 Rachel and Jerome divorced, and Rachel took on a new career as a quality assurance auditor for drug research trials. She loved her job, which utilized her nurse training and appealed to her sense of precision.  Her work brought her to Durham, North Carolina, and, after taking business trips all around the world, she retired to Winston-Salem in 2005.

Rachel loved her family and her garden, and she had a special fondness for Basset Hounds.  She leaves behind her son, George and his wife Jane; her son, John; her daughter, Katherine; her husband, Richard; five grandchildren, Tommy, Emily Anne, David, Rosa and Linus; and three great grandchildren, Beckham, Indie and Max.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, August 20, 2022, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting donations to the church in her name. https://stpaulswinstonsalem.org/giving-at-st-pauls/

Online condolences may be made at www.hayworth-miller.com