Gene was the cherished father of two sons: Paul Murphy of St. Anthony, Minnesota and Tim Murphy of Denver, Colorado, and three daughters: Kathy Derderian of Redford, Michele Brown of Westland, and Fran Stein of Hotchkiss, Colorado. He also leaves behind two sons-in-law: Gary Derderian and Andy Stein.
He was the beloved husband of Jeanne Murphy for 39 years, and will also be sadly missed by his stepdaughters: Kris Pomerville of Westland and Amy Reimer of McKinney, Texas, along with their husbands: John Pomerville and Jim Reimer.
Gene was the proud grandfather of 12 grandchildren: TJ, Chelsea, Jack, claire, Carrie, Bryan, Mike, Tina, Joe, Brian, Hilary, Isaac, and 6 step grandchildren. and 6 step-grandchildren. At last count, he had 14 great-grandchildren.
He is the loving brother of Rita Poprik and her husband Al Poprik of Conroe, Texas. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Francis and Hilda Murphy, and his brother, Richard Murphy.
Gene was born in Detroit and spent his early years residing there. He attended Catholic Central High School, graduating in 1946. He studied for the priesthood in Rochester, New York for awhile, then joined the Navy and spent four years on a destroyer during the Korean War.
After the war, his interest turned to engineering, and he completed the prescribed subjects for a course in mechanical engineering from International Correspondence Schools in Scranton, Pennsylvania in July, 1961.
He began working as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company where he was employed for over 35 years. He was part of a team who launched the Contour/Mystique in Kansas City in 1994. He made 3 trips to Japan on company business.
During his first marriage, he lived in Belleville and later, in Garden City where he was very active in the city's Medical Board.
In 1965, he and his family moved to Livonia. During this time, he purchased a camper and took his family on several camping trips to northern Michigan and even on an extended trip to the Western states.
After his marriage to Jeanne, who was a teacher, he enjoyed Christmas and Easter holiday trips with friends to Daytona Beach, Florida.
Golf was Gene's first passion. He was on a league and also played with friends whenever he had a chance. He enjoyed running for many years and belonged to a fitness club. He joined Kirksey Recreation Center where he exercised in their gym and in his own backyard pool.
He loved listening to music; anything from classical, to Celtic, to rock, and he enjoyed inspirational tapes. He never missed completing the daily crossword puzzle in the paper, and he proudly wore his Nay hat whenever any opportunity arose. He loved to dance. Socializing was important to him so he had many friends. He will be greatly missed by them all.
The family will receive friends at the Harry J. Will Funeral Home on Six Mile Road in Livonia on Saturday, August 18th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm with a Memorial Service at 2:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Salvation Army or the ASPCA.
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