Mary Jane Murphy, 89, singer, office manager
Mary Jane Murphy, 89, formerly of Fairmount, an office administrator for a commercial real estate firm and a gifted singer, died of heart failure, Tuesday, Sept. 29, at St. Joseph's Manor in Meadowbrook.
Mary Jane Murphy, 89, formerly of Fairmount, an office administrator for a commercial real estate firm and a gifted singer, died of heart failure, Tuesday, Sept. 29, at St. Joseph's Manor in Meadowbrook.
In 1988, Miss Murphy retired as director of office services for Strouse, Greenberg & Co. in Philadelphia. Miss Murphy joined the firm in 1958 as executive secretary to the controller and later was promoted to personnel manager.
Before she left the firm in June 1988, Miss Murphy placed a classified ad in The Inquirer seeking her replacement; it described her to a T: "It is ONLY for a pro-active person who is able to market the HR function thru enthusiasm and interpersonal skills and achieve positive results. Poise, polish, and entrepreneurial spirit may secure an interview."
While pursuing a business career, Miss Murphy sang professionally. As a young woman, she played the shepherd boy in a local production of Tosca and appeared as Gretel in an early televised version of the opera Hansel and Gretel.
For years she performed in the chorus for local opera company productions starring renowned vocalists such as Leontyne Price, Richard Tucker, and Renata Tebaldi. She also was a soloist for summer concerts in Atlantic City and Ocean City. "I sang mezzo or soprano, whatever was needed," she told friend and fellow singer, Mary Ann Tancredi.
In the 1960s, Miss Murphy made a recording of songs that she played for friends over the years. "Mary Jane had a beautifully expressive voice and sang with remarkable sweetness and clarity," Tancredi said.
Miss Murphy was the only child born to Jerome Murphy, a broker for chemical companies, and Helen McWilliams Murphy, a homemaker. She grew up in Ventnor and graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Atlantic City.
At an early age, she began studying voice, and in 1952 the family moved to Center City so she could be closer to her music school, Clark Studios.
For years Miss Murphy balanced office work with singing engagements. Eventually, she had to stop singing with opera companies to care for her aging parents. Her father died in 1967; her mother in 1977.
In the early 1980s, she joined St. Francis Xavier Church choir in Fairmount and was a soloist for church weddings and funerals for several years.
After retiring from Strouse Greenberg, Miss Murphy worked part-time at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and at the Catholic Information Center before it closed in 1991. She moved to St. Joseph's Manor in 2006.
Miss Murphy enjoyed listening to opera, overseas travel, and visits to the Jersey Shore.
She had no survivors.
A Funeral Mass was held Monday, Oct. 5. Burial was private.
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