Virginia Murphy

Virginia Murphy

Virginia Murphy passed away on April 13,2024 at the age of 91 years Seattle, WA.  She lived a long and active life and will be greatly missed by family and friends whom she loved and who loved her in return.

Virginia was born on November 6,1932 as the first of four children to Kurt (Germany) and Christine (Austria) Kindel.   She spent her early years in Greendale WI, one of three Greenbelt communities built under President Roosevelt’s New Deal.  It was a close community of working-class families.  She grew up in a lovely house with a large vegetable garden and enjoyed hiking, camping, skiing and ice skating.

After graduating from Greendale High School, Virginia attended nursing school in Milwaukee and became an RN.  She went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned her BS in Public Health. After graduation, Virginia worked as a Public Health Nurse in Wisconsin.   She met William Murphy “Tad” at the University of Wisconsin and they married in 1958.  They settled in Fox Point, WI and had three children there. In 1964 they moved to Peoria, IL.

Virginia raised her three children in Peoria where she stayed at home, providing a wonderful home life for her family. She taught nursery school and was active in the community among other things as a Picture Lady (talking about paintings) at her children’s school and a Girl Scout leader.  She made many lifelong friends in Peoria.

In 1981, Virginia and Tad relocated to Arapahoe County outside of Denver and the children went off to college.  Never one to idle, Virginia went to work for the IRS and began practising nursing again as an in-home care provider.  Virginia and Tad enjoyed hiking and the outdoor life in Denver.  Virginia continued to be an active skier and taught her grandchildren to ski while she was in her early 70s.

In 2001, Virginia and Tad moved to the Bay Area of California near their daughter and her family and spent the next years gardening, hiking and enjoying their children and grandchildren.

In 2015, Virginia moved one last time, to Seattle where she spent her remaining years at the The Kenney in West Seattle.  She had a zest for living, which remained unabated even as her health declined in her later years.  She especially enjoyed being outside checking on her garden and walking the grounds at The Kenney.

She will be greatly missed.

Virginia was predeceased by Tad Murphy and her son-in-law Todd Brooks.   She is survived by her children Mark (Colleen) Murphy, Maureen (Paul) Barton, Marilee Brooks, and her grandchildren Molly and Samantha Murphy, Christine and Pierson Barton and Grant, Lindsay, and Dana Brooks.  She is also survived by her three siblings Paul (Judy) Kindel, Karl (Carrol) Kindel and Christin (Harald) Grieser- Kindel.

A Memorial Service will be held on May 18^th at 11am at Good Shepard Lutheran church in Burlingame, CA.