Frank H Murphy

Frank Hamilton Murphy, 83, of Grosse Pointe Farms passed away on Monday, March 28, 2022. Born in Detroit to Winnifred L. and John W. Murphy (both now deceased) on August 18, 1938, he grew up on the city’s west side and attended Mackenzie high school, where he ran cross country and worked on The Dial student newspaper before graduating in the class of 1956. He attended the University of Michigan as a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship recipient and graduated in 1961. After serving four years in the East-Asia Pacific region, he was honorably discharged as a Naval Reserve Commanding Officer in 1965. He would remember his travels in the area, including time spent in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Japan, for the rest of his life.

Frank had a long career as a computer programmer and worked for major auto and financial companies in the Detroit area before his retirement, when he still enjoyed researching on and tinkering with his home computer. He was also a licensed amateur radio operator, a voracious reader, and a certified news junkie. He enjoyed telling stories, discussing politics and history, and always had a joke at the ready. Because his vocabulary was so extensive, he politely refrained from joining most games of Scrabble. He had a fondness for animals and shared his home with many feline, canine, and aquatic residents and visitors, once famously breaking his arm rescuing an injured bird from a tree. Throughout his life, he enjoyed sailing, running, cycling, scuba diving, and other active pursuits, keeping up gym outings and home workouts into his final years.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Adrienne, son Steve (Lynn), daughter Sarah, three granddaughters (Maggie, Abby, and Kate), and two granddogs. He was predeceased by his brother William. A small memorial will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 22. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Capuchin Soup Kitchen (cskdetroit.org) or the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society (macsshelter.org).