Obituary Robert Owen Murphy, Sr. 1926-2023

Robert Owen Murphy, Sr. (1926-2023), passed away peacefully surrounded by family on August 25, 2023. Robert—”Rob” to the family and also known as “Bob” to his friends—was raised in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish in Irvington in Indianapolis, Indiana, and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II (1945-46). 

Rob was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (1951) and served for twenty-six years as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was stationed principally in the Bureau’s New York City and Chicago field offices. Following his FBI career, Rob founded and served as president of Security Audit Inc., a security management consulting firm. Security Audit served nationally prominent medical centers and universities throughout the United States. He was one of the founders and a past President of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants.

In 1954, Rob married Eileen Ahern at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The focus of his life was on Eileen and their three sons and three daughters.  They traveled with their children throughout the country. In South Holland, IL, he served as chairman of the Junior Great Books program, as chairman of a Cub Scout unit, and managed a Little League baseball team. He served for five years as an elected trustee of the governing Village Board in South Holland, IL. 

In 1986, Rob and Eileen moved to the Michiana area where he served as a Eucharistic minister and lector at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame for thirty-two years.  

A clarinetist, Rob played with the Notre Dame University Band, which is composed of 80% students along with faculty, alumni and staff. He also loved playing and marching with the Notre Dame Alumni Marching Band every four years at the football games. 

With an ongoing interest in fitness, Rob played golf and tennis. In 2002, he initiated the Annual Murphy Masters Golf Tournament, which continues to be a family tradition, as a friendly competition and gathering of family members. In 2015, he won the championship trophy. In 2023, to honor Rob more fully, family members changed the name to The Robert O. Murphy, Sr. Masters Golf Tournament. 

Rob enjoyed the many academic, cultural, dramatic and musical presentations at Notre Dame and the achievements of its athletic teams. The University and its Basilica of the Sacred Heart comprised his spiritual home. 

The treasures of Rob’s life were Eileen and their sons and daughters and their spouses: Christopher Murphy (Barbara Booth), Studio City, CA, Marianne Murphy Zarzana (James Zarzana), South Bend, IN, Nancy Murphy Spicer (David Eddy Spicer), Charlottesville, VA, Statia Murphy, Indianapolis, IN, Robert Owen Murphy, Jr. (Kimberley Murphy), Three Oaks, MI, and Matthew Murphy (Valerie Murphy), Murrieta, CA. Rob’s life was immeasurably enriched because they were the central part of it.

Rob’s grandchildren were his pride and joy: Morgen Murphy Gallo (Tom Gallo), Elaine Zarzana (Fin Madden), Keelia Sulak (Brian Sulak), Kameron Murphy, and Robert Keegan Murphy,  Honora Spicer, Anastatia Spicer, Adrian Firsich, Malia Murphy, and Mitchell Murphy. Special delights were his great-grandchildren: Rowan Murphy Gallo, Josephine Neve Gallo, Torne Madden Zarzana, and Braiden Wilder Sulak. His cousins, nephews and nieces comprising the Murphy, Bliven, Ford, Jeffers, Mootz, Galdabini, Derwent, Schreiber, and Schroeder families shared many happy memories with him.

Rob was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Eileen Ahern Murphy, his parents, Robert L. and Helen A. (O’Connell) Murphy, two brothers and a sister: James E. Murphy, Sr., Rev. Thomas J. Murphy, and Marilyn (Murphy) Jeffers.  

Rob always expressed his profound thanks for his friends at the University of Notre Dame, his neighbors, and his friends and staff at the Knollwood Country Club for the grace and pleasure of their friendship.

The Murphy family is deeply grateful for the loving, professional care Rob received from the staff at Schubert Villa at Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame from April 2022, and The Center for Hospice Care, and Caring for Hoosiers at the end of his life.

A Mass of Christian burial will take place at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus at 9:30 am on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, IN, or Second Helpings, Indianapolis, IN.