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Below is a note sent out from Anne.
Dear family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors,
We’re sad to report the death of our funny, smart, argumentative, gourmet Jim Murphy. As some of you know, he had been in and out of hospital and rehab for the last six weeks, trying to recover from several serious illnesses. He seemed to be improving, but on March 1 he had a major stroke from which he could not recover; he died peacefully on March 5.
We plan to hold a memorial service in late spring or early summer. We hope you will be able to attend either virtually or in person. In the meantime we would appreciate your forwarding this news to other friends and relatives. I don’t have the addresses for some people, particularly from Jim’s work, so if you could pass this information on, that would be great.
Many thanks to those of you who wrote or called during Jim’s illnesses. Your love and support meant a lot to Jim, Mary, and me.
Love,
Anne
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C. Lawrence Modesitt
One memorable evening, Jim and I were in the Beta House kitchen doing meal preparation. Our cook, Mac, who occasionally sampled too much of his own “sauce,” reached into the oven and with his bare hands lifted a roast out of the pan. Or tried to. It didn’t get far. As juice poured off the meat into the oven and on the floor, all caught fire. Mac hastily dropped the roast, and it skittered across the tiles, blazing a trail of flames from oven to roaring roast. While Mac fled to a faucet to quench his burned hands, most of the rest of us uselessly bumped into each other. Jim, however, was hunched down in a corner, calmly reading the fire extinguisher instructions. Was he seeking how to serve Beef Flambe’? Soon, the extinguisher was on and the fire out.
I appreciated Murph’s wry sense of humor in normal times and his coolness in hot times. He was a warm, humane, and thoughtful person, and I’m sorry he’s gone. My condolences to Anne and Jim’s family and many friends.