James P. Murphy III

James “Jim” Patrick Murphy III, husband, father, grandfather, Investment Banker, and WWII B-17 Commander, died on August 2, 2023 at 98 years of age In West Chester, PA.

Born on April 14^th 1925 in Sumner, Iowa, he was the youngest of the four sons of James Patrick Murphy II and Agnes O’Malley Murphy.  All four Murphy brothers were active during WWII, including a brother, Lawrence, lost in an air raid over present-day Romania in 1943, and Thomas Murphy who earned two Purple Hearts in the early days of the allied invasion of Europe.

After serving in the US Army Air Corps, Jim began his post-war years by attending the University of Michigan, then furthering his studies at the University of Iowa Law School. 

He spent his full professional career in investment banking, specializing in municipal bonds.  Throughout his 35 year career he worked with Blythe Eastman Dillon, Harris Upham, and finally Smith, Barney & Co. where he retired as a First Vice President in 1984. He believed in, and practiced, their motto of “We make money the old fashioned way.  We earn it!”  He, indeed, earned his retirement at age 59.

He moved to Darien, Connecticut in 1958 with his wife, Nicky, to raise their family and remained there until 1996 before retiring to Vero Beach, FL and New London, NH.  The last decade of his life was spent in Downingtown, PA affording him the opportunity to be closer to his daughter Alison’s ever growing family.

The central focus of his life was the care and welfare of his family, making the commute into New York City for thirty years to ensure his children had the opportunities he did not have during his Depression era upbringing in the rural Midwest.  He still found plenty of time to enjoy crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and collecting coins, stamps, and model cars.  And, to his greater enjoyment, following his wife, Nicky, around the globe in their travels.

He is survived by his wife, Renate Helene Murphy; daughters, Lauren Helene Murphy and Alison Murphy Manthorp (John Howard Manthorp), and son Christopher Maron Murphy;  grandchildren, Catherine, Jack, Sarah, and Connor Manthorp. 

He will be buried in a family plot in Port Washington, NY alongside his father and mother-in-law Walter and Florence Maron and Renate’s sister Beate.