James E. Murphy

James E. Murphy

On Wednesday, November 23rd, James (Jim) Edward Murphy, beloved husband and father of two sons, passed away at age 85.

James was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1937, where he spent his early years living and learning with his mother Evelyn and stepfather Wayne Murphy who was a FBI agent under J Edgar Hoover. As a young boy he experienced the tragic bombing of Pearl Harbor. As a teenager he spent many days sailing the waters of Hawaii, surfing and swimming in paradise. He graduated high school and was accepted into the first Mechanical Engineering class at the University of Hawaii. He ultimately graduated college with a bachelor’s degree. He started his career with a short stint with Bechtel Power Corporation in San Francisco. However, he missed Hawaii and soon after took a job with the Hawaiian Power & Electric company. But he soon grew restless for greater challenges and returned to Bechtel where over the course of his 31-year career with Bechtel, traveled the world working at various nuclear power generation sites in the US, England, Japan, and South Africa.

At age 30, he met Barbara Lee Henley on a blind date in San Francisco in November of 1966 and after a short long distance courtship became engaged. They were soon married in the summer of 1967. Jim and Barbara had two sons, Michael John born in 1969 and Thomas Patrick born in 1974. The family eventually settled in the San Francisco area where he enjoyed sailing the San Francisco Bay and working tirelessly on their home in the hills of Moraga, CA. In 1983 Jim relocated the family across the country to Exton, PA. Jim took a position as a startup engineer at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant ensuring the safe startup and operation of the facility. In 1990 Jim relocated the family once again to Augusta, GA where he spent the remainder of his career working at the Savannah River Nuclear facility. He eventually retired at age 55 and enjoyed the good life, travelling the world, working in his backyard shop, and taking care of his garden.

James is survived by his wife Barbara Murphy, and sons Michael Murphy and wife Stace Murphy, Thomas Murphy and Grandson Colton Murphy, Brother John Murphy and wife Dagmar Murphy.

In lieu of flowers please donate in his name to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.

The family will be receiving friends for a visitation on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 from 4:00 until 6:00 P.M. at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com