CHESTER NEWS & REPORTER- Friends, fellow officers, say goodbye to Murphy
By Travis Jenkins
Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 11:01 pm (Updated: August 16, 1:20 am)
It would be hard to know how many traffic stops State Trooper Frank Murphy conducted during his long law enforcement career or how many speeding tickets he wrote. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood said, though, folks rarely seemed to mind being stopped by Murphy.
"He was one of the best troopers in the state," Underwood said. "It was funny. If he pulled somebody over and wrote them a ticket, they still loved him to death. That's the kind of person he was."
Murphy, 58, was killed in an off-duty accident this past weekend. His funeral, which drew law enforcement officers from all over the state, was Thursday at Chester's First Baptist Church.
Murphy first became a trooper in 1977 and remained one until his retirement in 2001. It was inevitble that the sabbatical from law enforcement didn't last too long.
"His love of being a trooper was too much for him and he went back in 2005. He wanted to make the road safer," Rev. Clay Waldrip said at Murphy's funeral. Waldrip remembered Murphy as a man with a tough exterior. He rarely smiled for pictures, but that wasn't able to mask the good in his heart. "He had a soft side, a caring side," Waldrip said. Waldrip recalled Murphy's tremendous work ethic. Even when he wasn't on-the-job, he was always fixing things, working on houses and mowing grass. His love of work often intersected with soft side. "Frank would help anyone that needed helping," Waldrip said.
Cpl. Kirk Winburn worked with Murphy for 19 years. Winburn works in York County, meaning he and Murphy shared an interstate and often had the chance to interact. Winburn said Murphy did his job well and always looked out for fellow law enforcement officers."He was very good, dedicated and hard working," Winburn said. "He always had your back if you needed it. He was very dependable."
As with Waldrip, though, Winburn said there was another side to Murphy. "He kept us laughing," Winburn said. Because his experience extended back to the 1970s, Winburn said Murphy had a great perspective on "the way things used to be." He was working before there were interstates in the area, when there was less traffic and when reports were written in pencil instead of on a computer. Because he was on the job so long and because he was always willing to lend to hand to someone who needed it, Murphy was known all over the area. In fact, it was hard to go anywhere in Chester County without someone bringing up Murphy's name. "When people would see that I'm a trooper, I couldn't come around here without people calling his name and asking about him," Winburn said.
Murphy did write a lot of tickets over the years, but that was far being all he did. He was shot in the line duty in Chesterfield County early in his career and was involved in a shootout in Great Falls in the 1980s.
"We had a big fight over in Richburg not too long ago," Underwood said. "At two in the morning, he was one of the first people to respond. He always seemed to be wherever you needed him to be."
Underwood said when news of Murphy's passing began to spread, he started to get phone calls from folks (law enforcement officers and otherwise) hoping the news wasn't true. His loss has been tough for everyone, Winburn said. "We're all troopers, but really, we're a brotherhood. He's going to be missed, that's for sure," Winburn said.
That was obvious on Thursday, when dozens and dozens of law enforcement vehicles were parked at the church, in the road in every direction and in the nearby shopping center. The hearse carrying his casket got one of the biggest escorts many had ever seen as it went to the cemetery. Everyone in the procession drove slowly...just the way Murphy would have wanted.
OBITUARY
Barron Funeral Home
Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy CHESTER, SC-- Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy, 58, died Sunday, August 11, 2013. The funeral service will be 11:00 AM Thursday, August 15, 2013 at First Baptist Church Chester with Rev. Clay Waldrip officiating. The interment will be held in the family cemetery at Fishing Creek Plantation, 2099 South Fork Road, Chester, SC 29706 with the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard. The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Wednesday evening at Barron Funeral Home. Born June 24, 1955 in Woodruff, SC, Mr. Murphy was the son of the late Melvin J. Murphy and Edith Cagle Murphy. He was a graduate of Woodruff High School and SC Criminal Justice Academy. 1977,Mr. Murphy was employed with S.C. Department of Public Safety as a State Trooper in Chester County and formerly served in Chesterfield County. He was owner and operator of Perfection Home Repairs.
Proceeded in death by an infant daughter.
By Travis Jenkins
Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 11:01 pm (Updated: August 16, 1:20 am)
It would be hard to know how many traffic stops State Trooper Frank Murphy conducted during his long law enforcement career or how many speeding tickets he wrote. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood said, though, folks rarely seemed to mind being stopped by Murphy.
"He was one of the best troopers in the state," Underwood said. "It was funny. If he pulled somebody over and wrote them a ticket, they still loved him to death. That's the kind of person he was."
Murphy, 58, was killed in an off-duty accident this past weekend. His funeral, which drew law enforcement officers from all over the state, was Thursday at Chester's First Baptist Church.
Murphy first became a trooper in 1977 and remained one until his retirement in 2001. It was inevitble that the sabbatical from law enforcement didn't last too long.
"His love of being a trooper was too much for him and he went back in 2005. He wanted to make the road safer," Rev. Clay Waldrip said at Murphy's funeral. Waldrip remembered Murphy as a man with a tough exterior. He rarely smiled for pictures, but that wasn't able to mask the good in his heart. "He had a soft side, a caring side," Waldrip said. Waldrip recalled Murphy's tremendous work ethic. Even when he wasn't on-the-job, he was always fixing things, working on houses and mowing grass. His love of work often intersected with soft side. "Frank would help anyone that needed helping," Waldrip said.
Cpl. Kirk Winburn worked with Murphy for 19 years. Winburn works in York County, meaning he and Murphy shared an interstate and often had the chance to interact. Winburn said Murphy did his job well and always looked out for fellow law enforcement officers."He was very good, dedicated and hard working," Winburn said. "He always had your back if you needed it. He was very dependable."
As with Waldrip, though, Winburn said there was another side to Murphy. "He kept us laughing," Winburn said. Because his experience extended back to the 1970s, Winburn said Murphy had a great perspective on "the way things used to be." He was working before there were interstates in the area, when there was less traffic and when reports were written in pencil instead of on a computer. Because he was on the job so long and because he was always willing to lend to hand to someone who needed it, Murphy was known all over the area. In fact, it was hard to go anywhere in Chester County without someone bringing up Murphy's name. "When people would see that I'm a trooper, I couldn't come around here without people calling his name and asking about him," Winburn said.
Murphy did write a lot of tickets over the years, but that was far being all he did. He was shot in the line duty in Chesterfield County early in his career and was involved in a shootout in Great Falls in the 1980s.
"We had a big fight over in Richburg not too long ago," Underwood said. "At two in the morning, he was one of the first people to respond. He always seemed to be wherever you needed him to be."
Underwood said when news of Murphy's passing began to spread, he started to get phone calls from folks (law enforcement officers and otherwise) hoping the news wasn't true. His loss has been tough for everyone, Winburn said. "We're all troopers, but really, we're a brotherhood. He's going to be missed, that's for sure," Winburn said.
That was obvious on Thursday, when dozens and dozens of law enforcement vehicles were parked at the church, in the road in every direction and in the nearby shopping center. The hearse carrying his casket got one of the biggest escorts many had ever seen as it went to the cemetery. Everyone in the procession drove slowly...just the way Murphy would have wanted.
OBITUARY
Barron Funeral Home
Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy CHESTER, SC-- Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy, 58, died Sunday, August 11, 2013. The funeral service will be 11:00 AM Thursday, August 15, 2013 at First Baptist Church Chester with Rev. Clay Waldrip officiating. The interment will be held in the family cemetery at Fishing Creek Plantation, 2099 South Fork Road, Chester, SC 29706 with the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard. The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Wednesday evening at Barron Funeral Home. Born June 24, 1955 in Woodruff, SC, Mr. Murphy was the son of the late Melvin J. Murphy and Edith Cagle Murphy. He was a graduate of Woodruff High School and SC Criminal Justice Academy. 1977,Mr. Murphy was employed with S.C. Department of Public Safety as a State Trooper in Chester County and formerly served in Chesterfield County. He was owner and operator of Perfection Home Repairs.
Proceeded in death by an infant daughter.
CHESTER NEWS & REPORTER- Friends, fellow officers, say goodbye to Murphy
By Travis Jenkins
Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 11:01 pm (Updated: August 16, 1:20 am)
It would be hard to know how many traffic stops State Trooper Frank Murphy conducted during his long law enforcement career or how many speeding tickets he wrote. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood said, though, folks rarely seemed to mind being stopped by Murphy.
"He was one of the best troopers in the state," Underwood said. "It was funny. If he pulled somebody over and wrote them a ticket, they still loved him to death. That's the kind of person he was."
Murphy, 58, was killed in an off-duty accident this past weekend. His funeral, which drew law enforcement officers from all over the state, was Thursday at Chester's First Baptist Church.
Murphy first became a trooper in 1977 and remained one until his retirement in 2001. It was inevitble that the sabbatical from law enforcement didn't last too long.
"His love of being a trooper was too much for him and he went back in 2005. He wanted to make the road safer," Rev. Clay Waldrip said at Murphy's funeral. Waldrip remembered Murphy as a man with a tough exterior. He rarely smiled for pictures, but that wasn't able to mask the good in his heart. "He had a soft side, a caring side," Waldrip said. Waldrip recalled Murphy's tremendous work ethic. Even when he wasn't on-the-job, he was always fixing things, working on houses and mowing grass. His love of work often intersected with soft side. "Frank would help anyone that needed helping," Waldrip said.
Cpl. Kirk Winburn worked with Murphy for 19 years. Winburn works in York County, meaning he and Murphy shared an interstate and often had the chance to interact. Winburn said Murphy did his job well and always looked out for fellow law enforcement officers."He was very good, dedicated and hard working," Winburn said. "He always had your back if you needed it. He was very dependable."
As with Waldrip, though, Winburn said there was another side to Murphy. "He kept us laughing," Winburn said. Because his experience extended back to the 1970s, Winburn said Murphy had a great perspective on "the way things used to be." He was working before there were interstates in the area, when there was less traffic and when reports were written in pencil instead of on a computer. Because he was on the job so long and because he was always willing to lend to hand to someone who needed it, Murphy was known all over the area. In fact, it was hard to go anywhere in Chester County without someone bringing up Murphy's name. "When people would see that I'm a trooper, I couldn't come around here without people calling his name and asking about him," Winburn said.
Murphy did write a lot of tickets over the years, but that was far being all he did. He was shot in the line duty in Chesterfield County early in his career and was involved in a shootout in Great Falls in the 1980s.
"We had a big fight over in Richburg not too long ago," Underwood said. "At two in the morning, he was one of the first people to respond. He always seemed to be wherever you needed him to be."
Underwood said when news of Murphy's passing began to spread, he started to get phone calls from folks (law enforcement officers and otherwise) hoping the news wasn't true. His loss has been tough for everyone, Winburn said. "We're all troopers, but really, we're a brotherhood. He's going to be missed, that's for sure," Winburn said.
That was obvious on Thursday, when dozens and dozens of law enforcement vehicles were parked at the church, in the road in every direction and in the nearby shopping center. The hearse carrying his casket got one of the biggest escorts many had ever seen as it went to the cemetery. Everyone in the procession drove slowly...just the way Murphy would have wanted.
OBITUARY
Barron Funeral Home
Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy CHESTER, SC-- Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy, 58, died Sunday, August 11, 2013. The funeral service will be 11:00 AM Thursday, August 15, 2013 at First Baptist Church Chester with Rev. Clay Waldrip officiating. The interment will be held in the family cemetery at Fishing Creek Plantation, 2099 South Fork Road, Chester, SC 29706 with the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard. The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Wednesday evening at Barron Funeral Home. Born June 24, 1955 in Woodruff, SC, Mr. Murphy was the son of the late Melvin J. Murphy and Edith Cagle Murphy. He was a graduate of Woodruff High School and SC Criminal Justice Academy. 1977,Mr. Murphy was employed with S.C. Department of Public Safety as a State Trooper in Chester County and formerly served in Chesterfield County. He was owner and operator of Perfection Home Repairs.
Proceeded in death by an infant daughter.
By Travis Jenkins
Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 11:01 pm (Updated: August 16, 1:20 am)
It would be hard to know how many traffic stops State Trooper Frank Murphy conducted during his long law enforcement career or how many speeding tickets he wrote. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood said, though, folks rarely seemed to mind being stopped by Murphy.
"He was one of the best troopers in the state," Underwood said. "It was funny. If he pulled somebody over and wrote them a ticket, they still loved him to death. That's the kind of person he was."
Murphy, 58, was killed in an off-duty accident this past weekend. His funeral, which drew law enforcement officers from all over the state, was Thursday at Chester's First Baptist Church.
Murphy first became a trooper in 1977 and remained one until his retirement in 2001. It was inevitble that the sabbatical from law enforcement didn't last too long.
"His love of being a trooper was too much for him and he went back in 2005. He wanted to make the road safer," Rev. Clay Waldrip said at Murphy's funeral. Waldrip remembered Murphy as a man with a tough exterior. He rarely smiled for pictures, but that wasn't able to mask the good in his heart. "He had a soft side, a caring side," Waldrip said. Waldrip recalled Murphy's tremendous work ethic. Even when he wasn't on-the-job, he was always fixing things, working on houses and mowing grass. His love of work often intersected with soft side. "Frank would help anyone that needed helping," Waldrip said.
Cpl. Kirk Winburn worked with Murphy for 19 years. Winburn works in York County, meaning he and Murphy shared an interstate and often had the chance to interact. Winburn said Murphy did his job well and always looked out for fellow law enforcement officers."He was very good, dedicated and hard working," Winburn said. "He always had your back if you needed it. He was very dependable."
As with Waldrip, though, Winburn said there was another side to Murphy. "He kept us laughing," Winburn said. Because his experience extended back to the 1970s, Winburn said Murphy had a great perspective on "the way things used to be." He was working before there were interstates in the area, when there was less traffic and when reports were written in pencil instead of on a computer. Because he was on the job so long and because he was always willing to lend to hand to someone who needed it, Murphy was known all over the area. In fact, it was hard to go anywhere in Chester County without someone bringing up Murphy's name. "When people would see that I'm a trooper, I couldn't come around here without people calling his name and asking about him," Winburn said.
Murphy did write a lot of tickets over the years, but that was far being all he did. He was shot in the line duty in Chesterfield County early in his career and was involved in a shootout in Great Falls in the 1980s.
"We had a big fight over in Richburg not too long ago," Underwood said. "At two in the morning, he was one of the first people to respond. He always seemed to be wherever you needed him to be."
Underwood said when news of Murphy's passing began to spread, he started to get phone calls from folks (law enforcement officers and otherwise) hoping the news wasn't true. His loss has been tough for everyone, Winburn said. "We're all troopers, but really, we're a brotherhood. He's going to be missed, that's for sure," Winburn said.
That was obvious on Thursday, when dozens and dozens of law enforcement vehicles were parked at the church, in the road in every direction and in the nearby shopping center. The hearse carrying his casket got one of the biggest escorts many had ever seen as it went to the cemetery. Everyone in the procession drove slowly...just the way Murphy would have wanted.
OBITUARY
Barron Funeral Home
Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy CHESTER, SC-- Mr. Frank Andrew Murphy, 58, died Sunday, August 11, 2013. The funeral service will be 11:00 AM Thursday, August 15, 2013 at First Baptist Church Chester with Rev. Clay Waldrip officiating. The interment will be held in the family cemetery at Fishing Creek Plantation, 2099 South Fork Road, Chester, SC 29706 with the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard. The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Wednesday evening at Barron Funeral Home. Born June 24, 1955 in Woodruff, SC, Mr. Murphy was the son of the late Melvin J. Murphy and Edith Cagle Murphy. He was a graduate of Woodruff High School and SC Criminal Justice Academy. 1977,Mr. Murphy was employed with S.C. Department of Public Safety as a State Trooper in Chester County and formerly served in Chesterfield County. He was owner and operator of Perfection Home Repairs.
Proceeded in death by an infant daughter.
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