Michael Murphy

W. Michael Murphy passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, in Atlanta, GA, on March 7, 2025, at the age of 76. A lifelong Atlantan, third-generation Marist School graduate, and accomplished real estate developer of 33 neighborhood shopping centers across the Southeast, Michael was a devoted father, husband, mentor, and friend to many.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, William Wrigley Murphy and Tina Capossela Murphy, and is survived by his wife, Laurie Holladay Murphy, his children, Michael Gannon Murphy and Kaitren Michele Murphy, his step son Robert Webb, Jr, and his siblings, Michele Murphy Mitchell and Joel Thomas Murphy.

In 2018, Michael courageously sought a diagnosis for his increasing cognitive decline, which led to a confirmation of Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer’s. He approached the next seven years with the same resilience and determination that defined his life—committed to overcoming obstacles with hard work and dedication. Michael embraced treatment through exercise, medication, and social engagement, maintaining as normal a life as possible until his final years. Even in his later stages, he remained open about his journey, always willing to share his experiences with others.

Michael was born on July 25, 1948, at Piedmont Hospital and attended St. Thomas More and Christ the King before becoming the first third-generation graduate at Marist School. His father, Bill Murphy, graduated in 1939, and his grandfather, Gregory Murphy, in 1909. At Marist, he was a four-year varsity football starter, a varsity baseball left fielder, and the Captain of Company B. He graduated in 1966 and attended the University of Georgia, where he joined the SAE fraternity and earned a Bachelor’s in Business in 1970. After serving in the U.S. Army and receiving an honorable discharge, he pursued his MBA at Georgia State University, graduating in 1971.

Soon after, Michael began his career in commercial real estate, starting at Cousins Properties, then becoming President of Watkins Associated Developers, and eventually founding Michael Murphy and Associates in 1991. Michael had an immensely successful career, working closely with the Publix senior management team to develop Publix centers in Florida, Alabama, and Atlanta. His first center, Sarasota Commons, still stands, and his closest-to-home center, Publix on Ponce, was the first Atlanta urban Publix to be developed.

Some of Michael’s other accomplishments and hobbies include being a Buckhead Baseball All-Star on the 1960 team, being a member of the Gridiron Society, game fishing at Bimini Big Game Fishing Club in the Bahamas, serving as a Buckhead Baseball coach and Cub Scout Den Leader, upland bird hunting in South Georgia, and being an avid baseball fan who held season tickets to the Atlanta Braves from the early ’80s for the next 35-plus years.

Baseball was certainly a focal point of many years of Michael’s life. First-base side, dugout level, and easy to find—as all one had to do was just listen for the fan yelling “rag arm” at the top of his lungs or look for the modified high five the entire section went on to practice. Years before, Michael was one of the many who claimed to have been at Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, but unlike most, Michael kept a framed certificate with the $6 ticket stub for the April 8, 1974, game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Michael married Laurie in 2005 after previously having 15-plus years of a committed relationship with her. Michael and Laurie lived happily in an Atlanta home that Michael purchased in 1986, expanded in several phases over the years, and fondly referred to as their “bungalow.” In line with one of Michael’s many aphorisms, the bungalow was the epitome of “understated elegance.”

A proud child of a first-generation Italian American, Michael was always the first to laud his grandparents’ immigration from Avellino outside of Naples, Italy. Both his grandfather, Michael Capossela, and his grandmother, Marguerite Delisio Capossela, were influential in his childhood and adult life. He was born a year to the day after Michael Capossela’s passing and lived by the axioms taught by Marguerite “Nannie” Capossela, such as “don’t touch the principal.” Michael adored his mother, father, Uncle Tom Duffy, and Aunt Mary Duffy (aka FAM—Favorite Aunt Mary) until they passed and was the first to make regular visits for movie nights and dinners as the two matriarchs outlived their spouses.

Michael’s family, while small in number of siblings, grew quickly over the years, as was evidenced by large Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gatherings. Uncle Mikey left an indelible mark on all of his nephews, nieces, cousins, and more. He was a mentor and trailblazer for them, as he was to many others in his personal and professional life. Atlanta is full of business associates, colleagues, and friends who can point to one or many times that Michael took them aside and offered words of encouragement, advice, and wisdom on what—and what NOT—to do to get by in life.

The proud father of two and step father of one, Michael had his son, Gannon, in 1975, followed by his daughter, Katie, in 1986. His stepson, Bobby, recalls his personal and professional mentorship and love of heckling opposing pitchers at the game. To his daughter, Katie, he passed along his love for deep-sea fishing, his love for music and dance, Atlanta native pride, a solid game of HORSE on the family basketball hoop, a luxurious head of hair, and a penchant for never turning down a good photo. To his son, Gannon, he passed along his love for baseball, his appetite for life, his need to “put everything in its place and place everything,” his “ability to sell a truckload of last year’s calendars,” his belief in being of service to others (especially family), and his commitment to understated elegance.

Michael had many indulgences in life, some of them stronger than others. He was known throughout Atlanta and Athens as someone who could lift the day and night to the next level. From playing Elvis with slicked-back hair and jet-black shoe polish sideburns at the SAE shack to stuffing his blazer pockets with food off the buffet or chocolates from the serving dish, Michael had antics that were well known and, in his mother’s words, a little mischievous. One of Michael’s biggest points of pride was getting sober in 2002, which not only allowed him years of business success and marital peace but literally saved his life when he was able to uncover and treat prostate cancer and other medical ailments. Living his next 23 years sober never prevented Michael from having a good time or another addiction (cigars, vaping, exercise, and blood orange soda, to name a few), but it did allow him to thrive and embrace a new lease on life that he was always proud to share.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Piedmont Driving Club, 1215 Piedmont Ave NE, on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 4 PM.

The family asks that remembrances and donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association and/or to the 2025 Walk to End Alzheimer’s: http://act.alz.org/goto/WMichaelMurphy