Florence Cecelia Murphy

Florence is survived by her loving children, Irene (Ted) Lietz,Brian (Martha), Kathleen (Ralph) Clevinger, Maureen (Greg) Cowley, Kevin (Mary Carol), Patrick (Elaine), Colleen (Bill) Whiteford, Mary (Chris) Sutton, and Florence (David) Rycerz; and loving grandchildren, Patricia, Thomas, Aaron, Monica, Kaylan, Peter (deceased), Sean, Timothy, Brendan, Benjamin, Katherine, Amanda, Shannon, Erin, Brooks, Paige, Lindsey, Madison, Nathan, Hannah, Catherine, Thomas, and Samuel. She will also be greatly missed by 22 great-grandchildren.

If you don’t already know, Florence was a person of strong faith, values and character, which shaped every aspect of her life. Her love of learning and her desire to serve led her from a high school job in a St. Louis pharmacy to studying nursing at St. Louis University. Working with the Sisters of St. Mary inspired her to explore Catholicism leading her to her convert to the Catholic Church at age 17. She loved learning with the Jesuits at St. Louis, University, earning her degree as a registered nurse. As a licensed RN, she met Dad when he was hospitalized after a chemistry lab accident; she was his nurse and soon became his life partner. He called her “Irish,” which she loved.

Not long after marriage, their oldest child was born, the first of nine children from 1952-1965: Rene, Brian, Kathy, Maureen, Kevin, Patrick, Colleen, Mary, and Flo. Family life was crowded into two bedrooms and one bathroom with a converted attic. But life was rich with Sunday family dinners from the cast-iron pot, a multitude of holiday and birthday celebrations with cut-out cakes and lots of crepe paper. Nothing was more important than faith family and learning. Their emphasis on education is evidenced by all nine kids completing college, even some with advanced degrees.

Mom’s love of learning and service drew her back to nursing, when Flo, the youngest went off to school. She worked at Sinai for many years and actually maintained her nursing license until she died. Being a nurse was always a strong part of her identity. Despite her own declining health, she always watched out for neighbors and even her fellow residents when she moved to senior living.

Mom’s conversion to Catholicism was the basis of some extraordinary efforts within and for the church. Early in their marriage, as devout Catholics, both Mom and Dad became professed secular Franciscans of the confraternities of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas More. She and Dad were instrumental in founding the Stephen Ministry service here at St. Martin de Porres. They both served on parish council and school board, were founding parents of St. Anne High School, served as officers of parish organizations, like the St. Anne Christian Mothers, and she was a member of the St. Martin’s Active Christian Women’s Club (ACWC) who are here today to honor her.

Mom passed peacefully under the loving care of family and her beloved nurses from hospice on March 1, not without a fight. She felt she still should be working or helping someone, almost to her last breath. In this life of love, family and service, the net of contacts and her impact were wide, as evidenced by the many friends here, along with all of her nine children, and many of her 23 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren here present today.

In Mom’s last days, we often felt as if we were trying to repay her for the more than seventy years since her first days as a Catholic nurse and mother. But it’s an impossible task to describe the many ways and the many lives she has touched. We will miss her and remain in her debt forever. We pray for her happiness and new learning in the next realm. Thank you, Mom.

A visitation for Florence will be held Friday, March 7, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM at D.S. Temrowski & Sons Funeral Home, 30009 Hoover Road, Warren, MI 48093. A rosary will occur Friday, March 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM, 30009 Hoover Road, Warren, MI 48093. An instate viewing will occur Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM, followed by a funeral mass at 11:00 AM, both at St. Martin de Porres, 31555 Hoover Rd, Warren, MI 48093.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Florence’s honor can be made to The Solanus Casey Center, (Attn. Br. Steve Kropp Director1780 Mt. Elliot Street, Detroit MI, 48207.)