HYANNIS, Mass. – Bernard Joseph Murphy, Jr. died in Hyannis, Mass. on July 25, 2021 at the age of 80. He was born in Pittsfield, Mass. on March 1, 1941, the first child of Bernard Joseph Murphy, Sr. and Eleanor Moshier Murphy. His parents gave him the nick-name, “Bernie,” when he was a baby, and that’s what he was called by family, friends, and colleagues all his life.

A 1958 graduate of Pittsfield High School, he matriculated at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he received his B.A. in Political Science in 1962. In 1966, he received his Master of Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island. A life-long public servant, he began his career in 1966 as Assistant City Manager of Auburn, Maine. In 1970, he became City Manager of Auburn, the youngest person ever to serve in that position. Over the decades, his career in city management brought him up and down the eastern seaboard: City Manager of Auburn, Maine (1970-1978); Deputy City Manager of Gainesville, Fla. (1978-1979); then City Manager of Sanibel, Fla. (1979-1984); Acton, Mass. (1984-1986); Ormond Beach, Fla. (1986-1992); Staunton, Va. (1992-2000); and, in the last decade of his career, Ormond Beach, Ponce Inlet, and, lastly, Flagler Beach, Fla. After his retirement, he served as an emergency-preparedness consultant to the International City Managers Association, traveling twice to India and once to Ethiopia, under the sponsorship of the United States Agency for International Development.

Bernard Murphy was one of the most widely respected and admired city managers of his generation. He was highly principled in his profession; an untiring advocate of open, fair, and democratic government; a leader who knew how to bridge the divides of race, class, and conflicting interests with open mindedness and good humor. He was sought after by city councils, trusted by his department heads, appreciated by union leaders, and celebrated by the citizens he served. He was the rare city manager who could nearly square the circle: providing excellent city services, while keeping taxes reasonably low.

Bernard Murphy was married three times. In 1963, he married Marjorie St. Aubin, a fellow graduate of the University of Massachusetts, whom he divorced in 1977. They had three children together: Kevin, Anne, and Sean Murphy. In 1978, he married Linda Carnevale (then, of Lewiston), with whom he had a fourth child, Shannon Murphy. Linda, remembered by Bernard as the dearest love of his life until his very last days, died on Easter Day 1997. His marriage, in late 1997, to Linda Coffey ended amicably a decade later.

In addition to the loss of his second wife, Linda, Bernard was predeceased by his daughter, Anne Elizabeth Murphy Lampal, in 2008; and his younger brother, Daniel Murphy, in 2018.

He is survived by his son, Kevin Murphy, and daughter-in-law, Claudia Fonseca, and Kevin’s two children, Ryan and Maeve Murphy; by his son-in-law, Gary Lampal, and Gary and Anne’s three children, Jared, Adam, and Livia Lampal; by his son, Seán Murphy, and daughter-in-law, Claudia Eisen, and their four children, Magdalene, Simeon, Matthias, and Miriam Murphy; and by his daughter, Shannon Murphy Thornton, and son-in-law, Ben Thornton, and their two children, Anna Mae and Dean Thornton.

In the last year and a half of his life, Bernard Murphy weathered the challenges of pancreatic cancer, compounded by the imposed isolation of Covid-19 restrictions. He kept up his life-long interests in politics and history. He kept up his good humor and romantic regard for the world. He treasured the news of his much loved children and grandchildren. On Bernard’s last day of life, though it was hard for him even to keep his breath, he smiled and joked and chatted and showed his perennial optimism. Bernard Murphy died at peace, openly reconciled long before his final day with the knowledge that it would soon be time for him to pass from this world. He is remembered by his daughter, Shannon, with a tribute that speaks for many of us who loved him: “Whether you knew Bernie or not, he made your life a little better. A man of endless wisdom, quick-witted humor, and who never left a story untold, Bernie was adored by all. He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of man and Dad.” He will be missed for as long as he is remembered.

Bernard was buried next to his wife, Linda, on a beautiful hilltop in Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton, Va. on August 2. His life will be commemorated and celebrated at Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. All are welcome.

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