Robert H. "Bob" Murphy
Bob Murphy, age 78, was born on October 16, 1943 to Lawrence and Nellie (Kerlin) Murphy in Richmond, Indiana. He died on March 31, 2022 at home in Tipton Indiana. He is survived by his wife of seven years, Nancy Graf; daughter Karen Kay Horton (Tim) of Tipton and son Timothy Murphy (Sharon) of Noblesville; stepdaughters Debra Dubenetzky of Whitestown and Renee Hobbs (Dan) of Wichita, KS; stepsons Steve Smith (Stacie) of Richmond and Bryan Baden (Heather) of Tipton. His grandchildren include Megan Kopfensteiner, Joe Dubenetzky, Katy Waggoner, Caleb Horton, Holly Beth Horton, MariKate Murphy, Erin Murphy, Evan Cripe, Tyler Hobbs, Ryan Hobbs, Chase Hobbs, and Jozee Baden. He has three great-granddaughters Sophie, Lydia, and Addison.
Bob graduated from Tipton High School in 1961, married Kathy Fike, and moved to Richmond where they began their family. His career started with ALCOA in 1965 and later Closure Systems International until his retirement in 2003. During his career, he was involved in production, planning, quality control, process improvement, domestic and international transportation, as well as logistics and import / export compliance. Bob was a proud member of the ALCOA 25-year club.
Bob loved to travel and play golf, especially to Hilton Head Island and central Tennessee. He was an avid woodworker – both making furniture and refinishing antiques. He put his initials on each job to indicate his pride in his work. He passed his work ethic on to his children, both of whom are business owners. He took pride in seeing his daughter and her family transform their hardware store into an anchor destination in his adopted hometown. As his grandchildren were growing up, he loved seeing them in academic, athletic, and theatrical performances. Weekends at GrandDad’s often involved a visit to the dollar store for toys that brought joy for a short time, and ice cream as a treat. After Bob returned to Tipton in 2014, he enjoyed visiting with friends over a meal followed by games, worshipping at West Street Christian Church where he and Nancy were members, or assisting in the church’s after-school tutoring program.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Larry, his sister, Nancy Rouse, and wife of 30 years, Linda.
The family would like to thank the physicians, nurses, and care team at Community North Heart and Vascular for their many years of care.
Memorial contributions may be made to West Street Christian Church Youth Fund, 132 N. West Street, Tipton, Indiana, 46072, or World Vision USA, PO Box 9716, Federal Way, Washington, 98063.
Bob’s funeral will be at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 4 at West Street Christian Church with Rev. Ashley Sherard officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 2:30 until time of the service on Monday. Young-Nichols Funeral Home is assisting the Murphy family with Bob’s arrangements.
The family requests that in Bob’s honor, you find at least one person to be extra nice to today.
Bob’s funeral will be live streamed via Facebook Live from the West Street Christian Church page for those not able to attend in person: https://www.facebook.com/weststreetchristianchurch/?ref=page_internal
Bob was really one of the great guys. He was fun on the golf course and actually even in his high school years he was fun and helpful. My condolences to his children and grandchildren
Bob#2 as you were called in a family of 3 Bobs. What great memories over the years in Tipton,then Richmond and again in Tipton. So many years and so many great times. I am so happy to have had lunch with you the last time I was in Tipton..you shall never be forgotten.
love you Bob, always will, best friend status
I love you Bob, always will, best friend status
Rest in Peace, my best, favorite friend
The services will be streamed via Facebook Live from the West Street Christian Church page for those not able to attend in person: https://www.facebook.com/weststreetchristianchurch/?ref=page_internal
My condolences to Bob’s family.
First met Bob when we moved to Ashley Oaks in Avon about 2003. Started playing golf with him and he introduced me to several different courses. He also set up a couple fun trips to Fairfield Glade in Tennessee.
I considered him a good friend and a man who cared about family.
I’ll miss keeping in touch with him.
Keep it in the fairway Bob!
Nancy, Mike and I are so sorry for your loss. You and all the family are in our thoughts and prayers.
So sorry to hear of the passing of a classmate and friend.
May the Lord bless you in your loss, Nancy and Karen and family .
What a wonderful, caring man! So sorry to hear this – but we celebrate the life he led, the lives he touched and the conversations we shared at West St Christian Church. Breathe easy now, Bob, you’re home.
Nancy, prayers for you and the family.
Kathy and I were neighbors of both Linda and Bob in Avon Indiana. We enjoyed conversing with them on many occasions..We ran into them in Hilton Head about 20 years ago.Bob played golf with us while we were there. He recommended that we look for a retirement home in Beaufort South Carolina. We took his advice and built a house in Beaufort about a year later. Both Bob and Linda were such great personable people! After Bob married Nancy,he introduced us to her down here in South Carolina. We could see why he fell in love with her. She was so nice! Bob would even try to play golf with his oxygen mask on! Even though it bothered him to do so,he was determined to play the game anyway!! Bob will surely be missed by us all. Kathy and I hope that your entire family will accept our condolences and prayers!
Nancy and family. I am so sorry for your loss. Prayers be with you all at this time of sorrow. We love you. RIP
Bob was my bro-in-law and friend for the 30+ yrs. he was with my sister Linda, before she passed. I always admired Bob’ skills and ethics. He was a very good carpenter, à darn good golfer and also knew his way around à kitchen. I think his favorite thing to cook was breakfast, and his biscuits and gravy were incomparable. As for ethics, his dévotion to family was easy to see. He was a great husband, dad, grandpa and friend to all in his family. He left his world better than he found it, and will be missed by the many who loved him. My sincèrest condolences, and Bob may where you’ve gone include à big beautiful kitchen, fine workshop and the golf courses you loved.
Nancy, so very sorry for your loss. Keeping all of you in my prayers!
Nancy, So sorry for you loss. Prayers for you the family.
So sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. Take care of yourself and let us know if we can do anything!
Karen Kay, Tim, and Family,
We are so sorry to hear of your father’s passing. May happy memories comfort you during this time.
With sympathy, prayers and love,
The Hellmann Family
Louie, Jo Nell, Ryan and Eric
I always appreciated the special care he gave to my sister, Linda during her many years of health struggles. I’ll always remember the wonderful Thanksgiving dinners he cooked for our family while he was married to my Sister.
I had the privilege of working alongside Bob for many years. He was a life-long learner, a trail-blazer and an innovator. The Richmond plant used a complex (and clunky) enterprise software called MAPICS. On many occasions, Bob demonstrated that he understood it far better than the IT “experts.” He was also the first to volunteer for fund raising, organizing golf outings and community service. He always went the extra mile. He was a good man. May he rest in peace.
Nancy, Karen Kay and family
So sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. I will always remember him as Uncle Bob. While we lived out of state and only got to see him infrequently over the years. I am especially sad that Aunt Nancy and my Dad Larry have passed earlier.
I’ll aways felt a kindred spirit with Uncle Bob because we both had a passion for woodworking.
Wish I could have been there to say goodbye, my family will be joining via Facebook feed.
All our prayers are with the family,
Love,
The Murphy’s (Kevin, Clarissa and Katie)
So sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. He was a great guy and a treasured classmate of THS ’61.
We will keep your family in prayer through this rough time.