Gloria Josephine Murphy

She will be remembered for her generosity, warmth and an enduring strength that allowed her to stay active to the very end. Recently she loved walks on the beach and enjoyed watching the young surfers at Seaside Reef. She cherished dining out with friends and thought every meal should end with a gelato. She enjoyed traveling, especially with her daughter in law Margaret.

At 96, she flew to Hawaii and was out and about everyday, enjoying the warm waters of the Pacific and memories of her first trip there with her husband in the 1950s.

Born in Los Angeles, California on March 19, 1928, she was the only child of Maria Louise Ramerez and stepfather Carlos Valentine Leon. While still in grade school, she moved from 6th street in LA to Burbank to a new home with a peach farms behind the house. After graduating from Burbank High School and having worked for a bus company for a couple of years, she and a girlfriend from school decided they wanted to see the world. With the idea of traveling to Japan, they applied for civil service positions. In order to stay together they ended up at Eielson Air Force base in Fairbanks, Alaska. There she met her future husband, Eugene Murphy, when they were asked to blow out candles on a birthday cake together at a surprise party in the officers club. They shared the same birthday, month and day. They remained together for the next 60 years until Eugene’s death.

After Gene was transferred to California, they were married in Reno, Nevada. As a military wife she traveled extensively. Not typical for the time the continued to work civil service jobs at each base wherever they were stationed. She had an independent streak and Gene loved that about her. One of their favorite assignments was in Germany. They lived off base, in Enkenbach-Alsenborn and became life long friends with a German neighbor. That friendship has now spanned 3 generations. Eugene retired in 1972 from the Air Force and the family moved San Diego to be nearer to her family. She retired from the Civil Service at Camp Pendleton in 1986.

Throughout her life she gave to causes she believed in. She volunteered with ESL students in the Encinitas schools using what her children called High Spanglish. She participated for approximately 40 years in a longitudinal women’s health study becoming one of the longest, serving participants. She was a block captain in Elfin Forest, alerting neighbors of community events and emergencies, for nearly 20 years. In her 80s, she drove elderly neighbors to appointments when they no longer could drive. She served with the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Fire Department as part of Fire Auxiliary for 30 years, where she did everything from traffic control, preparing food during fires and keeping the crews stocked with drinks and the like. She retired from the Auxiliary at 90, deciding it was time to pass the torch to younger neighbors.

She kept a close circle of friends in the neighborhood. She loved spending time at her home and could be seen tending her garden. She was devoted to keeping the bird feeders full and enjoyed attracting a variety of birds to her yard. Her recent travels included cruises to Alaska and Mexico, and trips to Washington DC, New York City, the Canadian Rockies, Vancouver, BC, and the Island of Hawaii.

Gloria lived a long fruitful life. She is predeceased by her husband, Eugene Murphy and survived by her blended family of sons, Michael Murphy and his wife Margaret, Richard Murphy, daughter, Karen Selgrath, grandchildren, John Ryan Selgrath, Ryan Murphy and his wife Jaspreet and Steven Murphy and his wife Kelly.

The final resting place for Gloria Josephine Murphy will be Riverside National Cemetery, located at 22495 Van Buren Blvd, Riverside. The burial is scheduled for September 22, 2025.