After an eight month battle against her old nemesis cancer, Darcee Murphy answered her Savior’s call home for total restoration, healing, and eternal peace. She was born on June 3, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan to Richard and Jeanette (Norwood) Schultz. Along with her parents and two older brothers, she spent her younger years in Peru, Indiana where she attended Maconaquah High School, graduating in 1974. A decade’s worth of fervent prayers for a sister were answered on her thirteenth birthday exactly, and she would also welcome a grandson years later to the day, on her fifty-second birthday.
As a B&K carhop in Peru, Indiana, she met the love of her life, Patrick Murphy, and won his adoration after a first date full of elephant jokes (What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence? Time to build a new fence!) Love and laughter would form the cornerstone of their marriage, which was performed and celebrated on March 26, 1977 at First Baptist Church in Peru.
Darcee followed Pat faithfully, moving hearth and home sixteen times total, including three states. Along the way, they added to their family with three beautiful daughters and over time, a proper zoo including dogs, birds, hamsters, fish, and even a ferret. Darcee loved all creatures big and small, with the exception of cowbirds. She loved making her forever home in the gently rolling hills of rural Brookville, where she fed and housed wild birds and cultivated beautiful flower beds.
The earthly beauty she not only nurtured but embodied was just a faint reflection of the glory of Heaven that she strove for. We take comfort knowing that she knew Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, and it was her dearest desire to share her faith. Wherever Darcee went, goodness sprouted, whether it was a Mom’s-in-Touch bible study, a Good News Club, a prayer group, or even just a passing conversation with an acquaintance. It would be the greatest joy of Darcee’s to know that her testimony led another soul to salvation.
Darcee passed peacefully into her Savior’s arms on Sunday, December 3, 2017, surrounded by the comfort and love of her own home and family. One of her favorite verses and dearest ambitions is to hear God welcome her Home by saying “Well done, good and faithful servant”.
Those surviving who will cherish and honor Darcee’s memory include her loving husband Pat Murphy; daughters, Karis (Randy) Troyer of Brookville, Rachel (Nick) Vanoven of Indianapolis, and Lauren (Adam) Golias of Brookville; grandchildren, Brynn, Colin, Nicholas, Logan, Josie, Cora and Darcy; mother, Jeanette Schultz of Kokomo; two brothers, Jeff (Lynn) Schultz of Columbus, OH, and Vic (Susan) Schultz of Louisville, KY, and one sister, Holly (Bob) Constable of Kokomo. She was preceded in death by her father, Richard Schultz.
Friends may visit with the family on Saturday, December 9, 2017 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon at Cobblestone Community Church, 4191 Kehr Road, Oxford, OH. Funeral services, officiated by Pastor Andrew Holzworth will be held at 12:30 p.m., where all friends and family are welcome. A graveside service for immediate family will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Brookville. A celebration for Darcee’s life will follow.
Memorial contributions can be directed to Child Evangelism Fellowship at www.CEFonline.com/get- involved/donate, or to the Hope Lodge in Cleveland (513) 618-5585. To sign the online guestbook or to leave a personal condolence, please visit www.cookrosenberger.com. The staff of Cook Rosenberger Funeral Home is honored to care for the family of Darcee Murphy.
While we mourn her loss here on earth, we can draw comfort from a post-it note tucked in her Bible, and take heart:
“Christ never allows any illness to end in death for a Christian. All believers in Christ will rise from the dead. Neither does it have to be the end of the life of the loved ones left behind – but too often it is. Christ desires to raise up those left behind from the living dead. Any kind of “death” is an invitation to resurrection life for believer. Any kind of loss never has to mean the end of an abundant, effective, or even joyful life for any Christian.”