OWLS HEAD – JoAnne G. Murphy, died Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at the Sussman House in Rockport, following an extended illness.

Born in Houlton, April 20, 1940, she was the seventh of seven children to Merrill and Gertrude Sewall Gray.  After the death of her mother when she was two years old, JoAnne was raised by her father and stepmother Grace Gray. She attended local schools and was a 1958 graduate of Houlton High School.

On March 28, 1959, she married Frederick L. Murphy in Houlton.  The Murphy’s made their home in Houlton until moving their family to Rockland in 1967.

JoAnne was a devoted homemaker, and community member.  For many years, she was an active member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Rockland serving the church in a wide variety of roles including as a Sunday School teacher, a Choir member, and was honored as the first female Warden in the Episcopal Church in the state of Maine.  An All-Aroostook and All-State Choir member in high school, JoAnne also excelled as a soloist at many church functions and weddings over the years.

Many people however will remember JoAnne as the happy, vivacious clerk at several of Rockland’s grocery and convenience stores including Ted’s Save More, Shore Save, Pik-Quik, Puffin Stop and Cross Roads, amongst others.  She loved the relationships built with co-workers and customers alike and missed it tremendously in her retirement.

Other than her mother, father and stepmother, JoAnne was predeceased by her husband Fred in 2012.  

She was also pre-deceased by five sisters, Shirley Holmes, of Houlton; Audrey Preisendorf, of Denver; Phyllis Hubert, of Littleton; Joyce Cumming, of Phoenix; and Mary Elizabeth Dobbins, of Mattawamkeag, as well as one brother, Carl Gray, of Phoenix.

She is survived by three sons, John Murphy and his wife, Gayle, of Owls Head; Carlton Murphy and Thomas Murphy, both of Rockland; five grandchildren, Krista Murphy, of Camden; Mackenzie Murphy and her fiancé, Geoff Fritz, of Brighton, Massachusetts; Anderson Murphy, of Hudson, Massachusetts; Carson Murphy, of Owls Head; Isaiah Murphy, of Lisbon; and two great-grandchildren, Tristan and Stefan, both of Camden.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 7, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 11 White St, Rockland. 

The Reverend Lael Sorensen will officiate.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church.  For those unable to attend, the service will be available virtually by visiting JoAnne’s Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com, clicking the pictures & videos button, then the watch webcast button. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland.

To share a memory or story with JoAnne’s family, please visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com  

The family wishes to thank the staff members of The Madigan House of Houlton, Woodlands Memory Care of Rockland, and the Sussman House of Rockport for their compassionate care and friendships over the past several years. 

Due to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church policy, masks will be required to be worn by all attendees regardless of vaccination status.