Lorraine Murphy

Lorraine (Lorry) Marie Murphy (nee Wirry) passed on Thursday, October 23, 2025 in Birmingham, AL surrounded by family and her purple blanket. Lorry was born on June 3, 1927, in Racine, Wisconsin to Albert and Rosa (nee Frantz) Wirry, the youngest of 9 children. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 73 years, John Edward Murphy, her parents, sisters (Claire Weill, Mary Weill, Mildred Weill, and Ethel Wirry) and brothers (Anthony Wirry, Charles Wirry, George Wirry, and Henry Wirry), and her son-in-law, David W. Ullrich. She is survived by her children Joanne E. Murphy-Ullrich of Birmingham, AL, and Kevin G. Murphy and daughter-in-law, Lynne Zheutlin, of Baltimore, MD, five grandchildren (Seth Murphy, Dana Ullrich (Konstantinos Sarris), Megan Murphy (George Miller), Alison Murphy, and Jack Ullrich (Olivia Smith)) and two great grandsons, Konstantinos (Gus) D. Sarris and Harvey S. Murphy-Miller. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Barbara Murphy, and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

Lorry grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, a block from her beloved Lake Michigan and graduated from St. Catherine High School. In 1948 she met John Murphy (also known as Jack or Murph), a chemist from Worcester, MA, who worked at S.C Johnson where she was a secretary. Lorry and her mother made sure bachelor John was well fed. They married on October 7, 1950 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Racine. They lived in Racine until 1957, when John and Lorry and the kids moved to Skokie, IL after John took a job at Borg-Warner Corporation in Des Plaines, IL. They lived in the Chicago area until 1990, when they moved back to Racine.

In addition to being a devoted housewife and mother, Lorry devoted her professional life to helping others. She was a unit clerk at Skokie Valley Hospital and Resurrection Hospital. She was also very active in supporting her children’s activities by volunteering as a teacher’s aid at St. Peter’s Catholic School in Skokie and as a Girl Scout leader.

Helping those in need was hallmark of Lorry’s character. She was often the first neighbor or friend to provide meals and support when illness struck. This compassion for others was the foundation of her many profoundly deep and lasting friendships. She was a confidant to many, a trusted friend who could always be counted upon.

The Church and its community were Lorry’s center board. From ironing altar linens to taking nuns out to dinner, she worked in many ways to support St. Peter’s Parish in Skokie and later St. Joseph’s in Racine.

One of Lorry’s passions was gardening and flower arranging. She participated in many flower shows, winning numerous awards. The arrangements often had purple flowers, her favorite color. Lorry also ran the Junior’s Program for the Skokie Garden Club, merging her love of children with the beauty of flower arranging. Her leadership continued later in life with Lorry receiving the Golden Trowel Award from the Racine Garden Club. Her home was filled with unique antiques Lorry found during her many antique hunting trips with her dear friend, Penny Fujiye.

Lorry also loved to travel, even as a young woman with excursions to Chicago and Wrigley Field. Joane and Kevin have many memories of family trips in the 1959 Galaxie or the 1965 VW camper bus, where Mom would try to entertain us by pretending her arm was a spider to catch us rambunctious children in the backseat. Later, Lorry and John enjoyed many trips to England and Ireland with good friends from St. Peter’s. She was a Green Bay Packers fan, of course, and she also enjoyed baseball, attending many Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, and Brewers games.

In 1980’s, Lorry and John took up sailing and named their small sailboat after the family dog, Gretchen. They were docked first at Burnham Harbor in Chicago, then at Monroe Harbor, and eventually moving the Gretchen to the Racine Yacht Club, which prompted their move back to Racine in 1990. They lived about a mile from the Windpoint Lighthouse, a landmark in her life. Lorry and John were active in the Racine Yacht Club and reconnected with old friends from their early years of marriage, were able to see more of Lorry’s extended family, and also made many new friends.

Lorry was always there for her children, whether it was as a school volunteer, organizer of birthday parties, or just a loving mom. She was supportive of her children and their activities, going beyond reasonable expectations to the point of putting up with frequently escaping white mice in her laundry room for daughter’s science fair project, typing numerous school papers, making rice soup to save Gretchen from distemper, etc. and supporting Kevin’s boy scout and high school swim team activities. As adults and parents, Lorry was incredibly supportive to Kevin and Joanne.

Her devotion to her grandchildren was boundless. Lorry so loved them and found each one uniquely special and precious. She was never afraid to get down and dirty on the playground. Grandma Lorry was known for her banana bread and snickerdoodle cookies, recipes she shared with her granddaughters. Despite the distance between Racine, Baltimore, and Birmingham, Lorry was as involved in her grandchildren’s lives as one could be.

Being near Lake Michigan provided Lorry comfort. From her days as a child listening to the foghorn coming from the Windpoint Lighthouse to her friends from the Racine Yacht Club, the lake and especially Racine, was her happy place.

In 2016, Lorry and John moved to Home Harbor in Racine, where they made numerous new friends. In 2023, John and Lorry moved to Birmingham, AL where Lorry and John were members of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

What made Lorry’s life so remarkable was her devotion to the love of her life, her husband John. She moved from her beloved Racine, in part to further his career. She was his rock and his reason for living. With John as the Captain of their sailboat “Gretchen” and Lorry as the faithful First Mate, they sailed through life using mutual devotion as their anchor.

Many people helped Lorry as her health declined. Venice Bass was her guardian angel at Home Harbor. Lorry’s Racine family and friends, especially Marilyn Venne, Debbie Weill, Dave Weill, John and Janice Berterman, Eric Johnson, and now deceased family members (Jim Weill, John Heinrichs) supported John and Lorry with love and devotion while in Racine. The staff of the Memory Care Units at Kirkwood and St. Martin’s in Birmingham provided Lorry with dignified care. She also received wonderful and compassionate care from the Compassus Hospice Team.

Lorry was highly appreciative and supportive of the work of the nuns of the Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Benedictine Sisters of Cullman, AL, 916 Convent Rd NE, Cullman, AL 35055 (http://www.shmon.org/) or to the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee, WI (https://www.sssf.org/Donate/Donatenow.htm).

Services will be held at a later date. Lorry will be interred with her beloved husband, John, at the St. Francis Xavier Columbarium in Birmingham, AL.

Services are under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (205.879.3401) in Homewood.