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Updated: August 22, 2023 @ 5:36 am
Kay Murphy of Rockport, a longtime Democrat and a Seth Moulton supporter, got a chance to talk with her congressional candidate in the fall of 2014, when he visited Rockport.
Former Gov. and one-time Democratic presidential nominee Mike Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, right, visit with Beverly Quint, left, and Kay Murphy, center, as Murphy’s son Rockport Selectman Paul Murphy looks on during a special ceremony to honor six “Democratic Diamonds” at the Rockport Community House in 2013.
Kay Murphy and her family, clockwise from bottom left, Kean, Betsy, Tim, Jerry, Sean, Kathy, husband Jeremiah, and Paul.
Kay Murphy of Rockport, a longtime Democrat and a Seth Moulton supporter, got a chance to talk with her congressional candidate in the fall of 2014, when he visited Rockport.
Former Gov. and one-time Democratic presidential nominee Mike Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, right, visit with Beverly Quint, left, and Kay Murphy, center, as Murphy’s son Rockport Selectman Paul Murphy looks on during a special ceremony to honor six “Democratic Diamonds” at the Rockport Community House in 2013.
Kay Murphy and her family, clockwise from bottom left, Kean, Betsy, Tim, Jerry, Sean, Kathy, husband Jeremiah, and Paul.
ROCKPORT — Over nearly 100 years, Katherine “Kay” Murphy influenced the trajectory of many lives, starting with the seven children she raised in Rockport.
She died March 29 at the age of 94, never stopping to seize each day for what it offered.
Her path was not always an easy one, having to bury two of her children, Kean in 1993, and Tim in 2022.
All who knew her — and that is a large number — know she loved her family and her community. and she showed it. She was elected to the Board of Selectmen on which she served for six years, and the School Committee on which she served three years. She also served on the town Recreation Committee for 24 years. Standing 5-feet, 2-inches tall, she was a wellspring of action.
She loved politics, and she served 40 years on the town’s Democratic Committee.
State Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester described Murphy as a powerhouse in Democratic politics, and a pioneer in women’s equality.
“In each of my elections, I learned so much from Kay, ranging from her optimism and warmth, to her courage and steadfast strength in the face of political adversity,” Ferrante said. “She loved people and wanted each of us to have our basic needs fulfilled, but more importantly, she wanted people to have the opportunity to reach their highest potential — their dreams.”
“She was a fighter in the trenches for equality, and in her later years, the best cheerleader. It’s not lost on me that women of my generation serve in the House of Representatives because of women like Kay. I am so appreciative that she was able to see Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll hold the two top spots in state government,” added Ferrante.
Murphy’s daughter, Betsy Blodgett, visited her mother every day for six months after she moved to Seacoast nursing center because she didn’t want to burden her children.
“It was something I looked forward to, and the day before she died, I had told my son, ‘I just had the best time with mom, talking about politics of course”,” said Blodgett. “She never complained and she never talked bad about people, never gossiping.”
Buddy Woods, who served as a selectmen with Murphy in the late 1970s, remembers her for the time she dedicated to the town.
“She had the responsibility of being a mother of seven kids, and she made time to volunteer. She devoted her time to serve the town outside of raising a family. When you volunteer for School Committee and Board of Selectmen, you have to devote your time even more than if it were a general committee when you could miss a meeting here and there,” said Woods. “But you don’t miss a meeting when you’re on the School Committee or Board of Selectmen.”
He further noted that at the time they served, “there was no town administrator to be a resource,” which meant the selectmen’s work entailed more duties.
“You had to go out and do your own research and questioning of constituents to have a reasonable understanding of the issues. It wasn’t presented to you,” said Woods. “It’s amazing what people can do if they are willing, and she was obviously willing, and she gave up some of her life in order to give to the town. She was certainly devoted and she showed up.”
Mrs. MurphyPaul Murphy, her youngest and a longtime Rockport selectman, said his mother was always strong for her children.
“She lived life on her terms. She loved life and loved Rockport,” he said. “She was very much involved in town and that’s where I learned my community service, through my mother. She loved people and people loved her. She was a reader, and reading books right until the end. She was doing well the day before she died. You never know about life, and the turns it can take. She died peacefully, surrounded by her children and a number of her grandchildren.”
In all, she had 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“She read newspapers cover to cover, the Gloucester Times, the Salem News and Boston Globe. Newspapers were her life,” said Paul Murphy.
Kay and her husband Jeremiah Murphy, a lifelong newsman and a long-time Boston Globe columnist, moved to Rockport in 1962; they had six children at the time. In the Globe newsroom, people often asked Jeremiah about his long commute to Boston to which he would reply: “But you should see Rockport.”
Kay was from Ipswich, and Jeremiah from Beverly, and they met at Riverview Pizza in Ipswich in 1949. They married in 1950 after which he worked at different newspapers, and eventually they lived in North Attleborough.
“But they always wanted to get back to the North Shore,” said Paul Murphy.
George Ramsden, a long-time Rockport educator, had six of her seven children in school. He recalled how Kay Murphy later became a permanent substitute teacher at Rockport High where she became known as “Mrs. Murph.”
“It was wonderful having her there. She was very understanding and a lot of that had to do with the fact she raised seven kids and they all had different interests and different connections. You could not put anything over on Kay Murphy,” he recalled. “She knew how to be nurturing to kids, and if there was a task to be done, she always said ‘sure.’ “
Another long-time Rockport educator, David Curley, called her a “godmother of Rockport.”
Curley, a Gloucester resident, was visiting with her just days before her death, and he said she was never sharper.
“When I think of Kay, I think of how sharp and energetic she was. She’s a reader — so well read, whether it was Boston sports or national and regional politics. She had an unforgettable love of life, and a love of her community,” he said. “She was 94 years ‘young.’ She was connected to the kids and the adults through the boards in the community. She was just so loved.”
Democratic DiamondIn 2013, Kay Murphy was one of six residents — called “Democratic Diamonds” — that were saluted by leading members of the party at a special ceremony in town. They ranged in age from 82 to 92 years old, and collectively had given nearly 200 years in combined service to the Rockport Democratic Town Committee. Even as older residents, they found a way to help their party, manning voter registration tables, working the crowds at the town dump, hosting fundraisers and endless phone canvassing.
At the special event, Gov. Michael Dukakis and Congressman John Tierney extended their profound thanks in person, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren did so with a video message.
The group was applauded for their commitment to social justice, civil rights, the plight of the underdog, those who face discrimination, the environment, among other issues. They campaigned for presidents, governors, senators and representatives at the state and local levels.
“Thank you for your fight for working families across the Commonwealth,” said Warren. “You set a great example for everyone in the community — congratulations.”
The wake will be Tuesday, April 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington St. in Gloucester. The funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, April 5, at 10 a.m. at St. Joachim Church, 56 Broadway in Rockport.
Gail McCarthy can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3445, or at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com.
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