Leon S. Murphy

On February 15, 1920, Leon Seibert Murphy was born to Elizabeth Murphy in St. Andrew, Barbados, West Indies. He was one of several children. As a boy, he was usually delegated to carry out daily chores like tending to the animals, bringing in well water and continuously running errands for his family. When he was a teen he managed his mother’s rum shop for a while.

He served as a policeman in the Caribbean. When he was 22 years old he experienced a very memorable incident that happened in Port Castries, St Lucia on March 10,1942. At about 5am his patrol opened fire on a fleeing German U-boat during the height of WW2.

Leon joined the British Army in 1944 where he served in the Barbados Battalion, South Caribbean Forces.

He left Barbados after WW2 to go to the U.S. and took on various jobs in different states. When he moved to Philadelphia he was motivated to settle down. It was then that he began his studies to become a dental technician. He ventured out to New York socially on occasion, and that’s where he met his sweetheart, Irene Jones. After he won her over, they married in 1953 while he was still in school. The Bronx, is where they started married life together. As history would have it, Leon was a true entrepreneur and diligently worked to open his own business he called Bronx Orthodontic Laboratory, commonly known to many as “The Lab.” His livelihood of making braces for orthodontic patients was successful for many years.

After 10 years of married life they moved to Queens. By then, Leon and Irene had three children whom they loved unconditionally. They brought their children up in a Christian home where morals and values were a way of life. He was active in the church and joined the choir because he loved to sing. Kindness was another attribute of his evidenced by him opening his home to family members abroad who needed a place to stay.

Leon was very handy and active. He was willing to lend a hand to a friend when he could. He was a member of the Palm Bay Senior Center from where he received awards for being excellent at playing pool. For a winning teamwork effort, he and his partner were featured in a local newspaper.

He lived most of his retirement years in Florida, with other family who lived close by. He was known to sit in his driveway and wave to his neighbors and passersby. For those who knew him, he was also known for his smile and snappy remarks.

Leon Murphy sadly lost his youngest son in 2004. He is survived by his wife Irene; daughter Karen and husband Sherman; son Seibert and wife Cynthia; grandson Sean; granddaughter Chantell; grandson Scott; granddaughter Kristen and husband Marcus; great-grandson Carter and a host of other family members including in-laws, siblings, nieces, nephews and many friends. We all miss him.