her family by her side.
Mimi was born in Lowell, MA, the youngest child of John and Julia (Slattery) Murphy. Mimi’s siblings were the late John and Sheila Murphy of Lowell and the late Anne Shaughnessy of Sudbury, MA.
After graduating from Lowell High, Mimi attended Emmanuel College, then worked for several years at the Courier Citizen in Lowell. In 1953, she moved to Washington, D.C. to begin her 40-year career with the US Catholic Conference (USCC) in the Immigration Department, which provided free assistance to immigrants and refugees. Mimi began as an executive assistant and, over time, became a case manager and a much sought-after authority on immigration law. Her “clients” included people from all over the globe, from Sierra Leone to China to all parts of South America. Mimi helped countless immigrants become US citizens; she often helped bring their family members to the US as well.
Her apartment overflowed with thank-you gifts from around the world, as her “clients” were so grateful for USCC and Mimi’s help. In 1992, she retired and returned to Lowell, where she took care of her sister Sheila, who was suffering from ALS. After Sheila’s passing, Mimi lived happily with friends in Marblehead, Mass, then moved with a group of friends to Bradenton, Florida. In 2013, she moved to an assisted living facility in Wayland to be closer to family.
Mimi had a gift for deep and enduring friendships. She loved to entertain and especially loved traveling with her beloved friends to her favorite place, Majorca. Mimi was known for her storytelling abilities, her inimitable sense of humor, her love of reading and many types of music.
Besides her many friends, Mimi is survived by her niece Maura Shaughnessy and her husband Bernie Regenauer and children Brendan and Colin, of Wayland, MA; her niece Anne Shaughnessy and partner Susan Epting, of Groton, MA; her nephew Frank Shaughnessy, his wife Christel and children Fiona and Dion of Arcata, CA.
Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 10.30am at Good Shepherd Parish, 124 Cochituate Rd, Wayland, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence, 10 Green Way, Wayland, Ma 01778 or the Animal Rescue League of Greater Portland (arlgp.org" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">arlgp.org [arlgp.org])
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