After more than a century of loving life, sunsets, any beach, travel, ice cream, a good martini, and particularly every single member of her extended family, Philomene "Phil" R. (Winchester) Murphy, formerly of Concord and Worcester, died peacefully on March 25, 2024, at the age of 101 and three days. She was the loving wife of the late David J. Murphy, Jr. who died in 2005.

Phil was born on March 21, 1923, as the daughter of the late Walter and Ida (Granger) Winchester. Growing up in Worcester, she was a girl scout, learned to play the violin, revered her wonderful parents and loved chasing after her older siblings, Walter and Eileen. She graduated from South High School in 1941. Then she grabbed her future and took advantage of a rare opportunity for a woman in the 1940s. She earned a college degree from Regis College in Weston, remaining active as a member of the alumni Class of 1945 for many years. She also later attended post-graduate courses at Holy Cross and Boston College.

She was extraordinarily kind and considerate and had an endless energy and excitement for everything life dishes that is new and different. And she helped teach her family how to deal with all the other not so fun stuff life dishes out too. She was the heart of the family for more than a century.

While her Regis degree was in Sociology, her social work career did not last long because she spent so many sleepless nights worried about the children she was trying to help at Boston Juvenile Court. So, she took an entry level job for the phone company and launched a career that would see her advance into management, once the leadership at New England Telephone recognized the smart and dynamic woman they had hired. She started as an operator in Worcester but ended her career at the main New England Telephone company office at the Prudential Center in Boston. She retired in 1985 as an Administrative Manager after 38 years with the company. She was a member of Telephone Pioneers of America.

Phil married David, a widower and former boyfriend, at age 51 and became a loving stepmom to four, adding on to her endless giving of herself, her love and her caring. Phil could go into an elevator full of strangers and come out with dinner plans, a wedding invitation, and a new lifelong friend. While residing in Concord, she was an active volunteer for the Council on Aging, and a member of Holy Family Parish's Circle of Friends.

For the younger generation of nieces and nephews, she was "Great Aunt Philomene." She liked to remind people that the "great" part of her name was a personality trait and had nothing to do with her age.

She had quips she collected over the years, seemingly one for every occasion. When people fretted about the future, she would counsel, "Life by the inch is a cinch. Life by the yard is hard." Or another one consisted of more everyday advice. "Fish and company smell after three days."

She leaves behind her three stepchildren, Sheila Murphy, Brian Murphy and Liam Murphy, along with her nephew Charles Young and niece Elizabeth Casey and several other nieces and nephews. In addition to being the sister of the late Walter Winchester and Eileen Young, she was the stepmother of the late D. Sean Murphy.

Family and friends will gather for a period of visitation in St. Joseph Church, 142 Lincoln Road, Lincoln on Saturday, April 6th beginning at 10 am. Her Funeral Mass will follow at 11 am. Burial at St. John's Cemetery in Worcester will be private at a later date.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Mass Citizens for Life .

Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.