Frances Ann “Duchie” Murphy Obituary

FRANCES ANN “DUCHIE” MURPHY

January 21, 2021

Frances Ann “Duchie” (DeMatteo) Murphy, 77, passed away peacefully and gently at her home in Hingham, surrounded lovingly by her family, on January 21, 2021.

She was born on September 1, 1943 to Rose and Martin DeMatteo of Milton, Wellesley, and Hingham, MA. She spent her early childhood in Jamaica Plain, but the majority of her childhood In Milton, Duchie attended high school at Jeanne D’Arc Academy in Milton and attended college at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. She graduated with a Bachelors of Arts and went on to become an elementary school teacher. She has been blessed to have enjoyed extraordinary and lifelong friendships with the special women she met in both places.

Duchie met and fell in love with her husband Philip Murphy at a young age and they wed in July of 1966, a union that has lasted 54 years. After their wedding, the couple moved to Hingham where they have lived ever since, raising their three daughters and enjoying lasting and meaningful relationships with countless friends and neighbors. Duchie was a natural nurturer and will be remembered as a stand-out mother, wife and homemaker. To know her was to love her and to enjoy her company was a privilege.  Her door was always open to her friends and family. Those who were lucky enough to enjoy her company will surely remember many happy memories and delicious meals around her dinner table.

Throughout life, Duchie enjoyed her strong faith, her close-knit family, gardening, traveling, cooking, horse-back riding, playing Bridge and Scrabble, the music of Josh Groban, and countless little pleasures like crossword puzzles, word games, jigsaw puzzles and a good salty potato chip. Most of all, Duchie enjoyed her summer home on Nantasket Beach in Hull. She enjoyed not only the beautiful natural setting that brought her joy but also her ability to share it year after year with her daughters, their families and her grandchildren. Duchie truly made her home in Hull a special place and her presence will be felt there for decades to come as she leaves behind so many memories of kindness, warmth and laughter for her family, friends, and all others who knew her.

Duchie was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her husband Philip; her siblings Marty DeMatteo of Hingham and Sarasota, FL, and Claire (and Richard) Taylor of Towson, MD; her daughters Laura (and Andrew) McIntosh of Ripton, VT, Nancy Murphy (and Mic Grant) of Middleboro, and Sarah (and Michael) Kiernan of Norwell, MA as well as by her 5 lucky grandchildren Kate, Anna and Amy Kiernan of Norwell, and Beth and Matthew McIntosh of Ripton, VT. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Duchie’s family would like to thank her huge circle of friends for the messages sent, cards written, and phone calls and visits made in the last weeks of her life. We are awed by the lives she has touched.

Duchie’s family invites you to join them at a funeral mass to celebrate her life at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in  St. Ann’s Church at 208 Samoset Ave. in Hull, MA on Monday, January 25th at 10:30am. The service can also be attended virtually at  http://www.youtube.com/c/ChristbytheSea or http://www.facebook.com/stmaryhull. There will be no gathering after the services, but the family is planning a wonderful celebration of Duchie’s life this coming summer.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Duchie can be made to Friends of the Paragon Carousel, PO Box 100, Hull, MA 02045 or to Wellspring, 814 Nantasket Ave., Hull, MA ; two of the many causes Duchie was passionate about.