James E. Murphy, Sr. died July 4, 2018 in his home in Newtonville, MA. Better known as Papa or the Old Fart as he liked to call himself, he was born on Holy Thursday, April 5, 1928 and his mother thought for sure he would become a priest. He was the youngest of 7 children born in Concord, Ma to Irish immigrants, the late William Sr. and Mary (Hefferan). Papa saw and lived through many things during his 90 years. As a kid of the Great Depression, he understood the value of hard work and making due with what you had. He worked hard his whole life and was proud to always provide for his family. He delivered apples and milk, worked for Bigelow Oil in the heating system business and eventually made his way to Pine Manor College, where he worked in the Maintenance Department for 25 years. After he retired he still cleaned boilers to keep busy. When he couldn't do that any longer, he promoted himself to Boss and enjoyed supervising any project we were doing! Papa met his sweetheart, the late Alice Power, at the A&P in 1948; they were married on May 7, 1950 and spent 66 beautiful years together. They lived in Concord before buying their home in Newtonville in 1953. Known to many as Nana and Papa, they had wonderful adventures together. They raised their 4 children in Newtonville and quickly became part of the neighborhood making lifelong friends. In 1978, they went to Ireland for the first time where he was able to visit his mother's birth home. They went back 6 more times, taking 7 of their 12 grandchildren. Papa was so proud of his Irish heritage and to be a first generation Irish American. He was able to connect with family in Ireland during his many trips and found his mother's immigration record when he visited Ellis Island. He spent Saturdays and Sundays listening to The Irish Hit Parade on WROL 950 AM, would visit many of the Irish festivals in the area and had many trips to the Irish Village on the Cape. He passed his love of Ireland and being Irish along to his family, which we will always cherish. Papa was a stubborn Irishman who loved life, his sweetheart and his family. He spent many years taking his grandkids to different playgrounds in the area and loved spending time with his great-grandchildren. He enjoyed going on adventures, visiting Arizona, The Grand Canyon, New Orleans, St Louis, fishing on the Great Lakes and camping in the summer. He loved playing scat, ice cream, watching the old Western movies and the Red Sox. He was a jokester and had great comic timing. Papa left the best voicemail messages and was the greatest storyteller. Some of his tales were repeated more than others; but he always had some new ones in his back pocket to share. He was one of the greats, the original #1 and was loved by all who knew him. He will be deeply missed. He is predeceased by his parents; his brothers Bill Jr. and Tom; and his sisters Rita, Norah, Kay and Mary; his son in-law James "Joe" Murphy; and his sweetheart of 66 years, Alice "Nana" (Power) Murphy. His is survived by his daughter Joan of Rockland,MA; Frank and his wife Pattianne of Waterboro, Me; James Jr. and his wife Simone of Newtonville, MA and Michael and his wife Susan of Hull, MA. He is survived by grandchildren - Kerrin Murphy-Vital of Dartmouth, MA; Corrin Finnell of Rockland, MA; Erin Murphy of Orono, ME; Brendan Murphy of Burlington, VT; Jennifer Mercurio of Hudson, MA; Officer Katlin Sanchez of Bronx, NY; Matthew Murphy of Kingston, MA; Mickeyla Murphy of Waterboro, ME; Cailin Murphy of Waterboro, ME; Tommy Murphy of Newtonville, MA; Aidan Murphy of Shrewsbury, MA; and Daniel Murphy of Newtonville, MA. He is also survived by his great grandchildren Keegan Finnell of Rockland, MA; Kiera Marshall of Rutland, VT; Connor Vital of Dartmouth, MA; Ryan Murphy of Orono, ME; Maiven Finnell of Rockland, MA; Melody Marshall Murphy of Burlington, VT; and Camber Mercurio of Hudson, MA. A period of visitation will take place in the Farrar Chapel of the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord Center, on Monday, July 16th from 11 am to 12:30 pm, with a funeral service in the Chapel beginning at 12:30 pm. Interment will follow at St. Bernard's Cemetery in Concord. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Good Shepherd Community Hospice in Newton, MA http://www.gscommunitycare.org Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.