Obituary of John Murphy

WATERBURY- Lt. Col. John Leo Murphy, Jr. (USAR-Ret.), 69, of 9 Superior Ave., passed away early Wednesday morning Nov. 4th, 2009 at the Waterbury Hospital. He was the husband of Janice M. (Skipp) Murphy. Mr Murphy was born in New York City, Feb. 12, 1940, a son of the late John L. Murphy, Sr. and the late Regina (Kruger) Murphy and was a Waterbury area resident since moving to Connecticut in 1973 from Sag Harbor, New York. He was educated in the New York school system and was a graduate of St. John's Prep and the State University of New York- Maritime. He was the retired President of Skipp Tortilla Products, retiring in 1996. He was a U.S. Army veteran serving during the Vietnam era and was the recipient of the following decorations; The National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Bronze Star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Two Overseas Service Bars. He remained in the U.S. Army Reserves following his discharge from active duty in 1973 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was a communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Naugatuck and a member of the SUNY- Maritime Alumni Assoc. Besides his wife of 38 years, he leaves one son, Bryan E. Murphy of Sag Harbor, L.I., N.Y. His funeral will be held on Saturday Nov. 7th at 10:15 am from the Alderson Funeral Home of Naugatuck, 201 Meadow St. and proceed to St. Francis of Assisi Church, 318 Church St., Naugatuck for a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Burial with full military honors will follow in St. James Cemetery, Cross St., Naugatuck. Friends may call at the funeral home on Friday Nov. 6th from 5 to 8 pm. Members of the Naugatuck Veterans Council will meet at the funeral home on Friday evening at 7:15 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1004, Meriden, CT 06450-1004