Frances Marguerite Whalen Murphy

Frances Marguerite Whalen Murphy was the first child born to Patrick and Mathilda Whalen in Aberdeen, SD on 4/24/1921. Frances grew up in Scranton ND with her parents and 4 brothers, Jim, Joe, Jack and Raymond. She was known for catching a jack rabbit not once but 2 times. Fran recalled many stories about living through the dust bowl in ND and stories of having fun growing up with her brothers. Frances enjoyed music and played the violin, clarinet and piano. She graduated college from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Music Degree. Frances spent her single life in Chicago working for Chicago Title and worked as a puppeteer for Kungsholm Puppet Opera Theater. The puppet theater was her dream job and she had many great friends and memories from Kungsholm. Frances met Robert Murphy in 1950. Fran was with friends and her date at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, when Bob and his friend drove up in Bob’s blue convertible ,with the top down. They were introduced and sparks must have flown as Fran said her date was not happy with her. Bob and Fran soon dated and in 2 weeks Bob proposed and Fran said yes. Bob’s proposal included the fact that he liked kids. They married on June 27, 1951, in Scranton ND. They had 6 children, Bob, Sheila (Terry), Mary (Tim), Mike (Terry), Beth (Roger) and Maureen. They raised their family in Elmhurst, IL, Boulder, CO, Palatine, IL, and El Toro, CA. After Bob passed away, Fran moved to Arvada, CO to be near her grandchildren. Fran adored her 8 grandchildren, Brienne (John), Taryn, Kevin (RaeLynn), Samantha, Sean, Kelly, Mikey and Dylan and great grandchildren Tim and Harper. Fran enjoyed her family, her cat Fuzzy, crossword puzzles, The Rockies, Broncos and Avalanche, travel, music and cooking for family and friends. Mom would communicate her love in two ways, verbally and through cooking and serving food. Fran was well known for her deserts but mostly her Dobash cake. There was no woman sweeter than Fran and she always had a beautiful smile on her face. The only recorded instance of Fran being mean in her 96 year history is when she forced her kids to finish their dinner before receiving desert! An epic battle of wills that sometimes lasted hours with Fran always prevailing. Murphy's love their desert. Fran is preceded in death by her husband, Bob, her parents Patrick and Mathilda, brothers, Jim and Jack. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and Brothers Joe and Ray and numerous nieces and nephews. Fran lived a fabulous life and touched all who knew her. We all need a Fran in our life and those that knew her were blessed. If you so wish, you make a contribution to Fran’s charity of choice, Catholic Charities of Denver. PO Box 100728 Denver, CO 80250-0728 note, in memory of Frances M. Murphy