William M. Murphy

William Martin Murphy, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and formerly of Scarborough, passed away as the result of an accident in Brooklyn on April 26, 2017. Will was born in Portland on November 8, 1989, as the elder son of Richard Murphy and Melissa Hanley Murphy, and spent his childhood and teenaged years in Scarborough, attending Scarborough schools until high school at Cheverus where he graduated with honors, participated in track and field, and served as vice president of the Class of 2008. When it came time for college Will eagerly headed to the experiences of New York City, and he graduated from New York University with a degree in economics in 2012. Although he often returned to Maine and the comfort of his family for respite from the intensity of City life Will forever after considered himself to be a New Yorker. At the time of his passing Will was pursuing a career in digital marketing at HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Gilt City among others. He loved the intersection of analytics and creativity, the offices next to the World Trade Center site overlooking New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty, and most importantly, his smart, funny and welcoming co-workers who became a second family to him. In his too short life on earth Will lived fully, touched many with his gifts and gentle soul, and delighted others with his unique sense of humor and perspective on the world. His brother, Dan, described him as the smartest person he ever met. He never rested on his intellectual ability alone, though, and always worked hard. As soon as he could drive, he secured a series of summer jobs in food service, at the Maine Mall and at Pineland Farms. The first hint of his gifts came before the age of 3, when Will could identify the make and model of any car he saw. His continued love of cars and their design led to annual trips with his dad to the New England International Auto Show in Boston and culminated in a trip to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit when Will was in high school. As he grew up Will expanded his interests to include the geography, culture and languages of the world, which led to his winning the Maine State Geographic Bee while a 7th grader at Scarborough Middle School and representing Maine at the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., hosted by Alex Trebek. Not surprisingly then Will loved to experience the world first hand. As a child, he enjoyed many family trips throughout the U.S. and Canada. While still a young teenager, he introduced his skeptical family to the taste of chicken feet in Toronto's Chinatown. The summer before college Will took his first trip to Europe with his family, and his fluency in French was of great assistance with the porter on the overnight train from Paris to Rome, who professed not to speak a word of English. One of the happiest periods in Will's life was the time he spent at NYU in Paris, exploring the city, its culture, and of course, its art. When he returned to NYU the following semester he enjoyed taking his less enlightened parents to the Museum of Modern Art to explain the work of the artists he had studied at the Centre Pompidou. During the last several years, his parents were thrilled to travel with Will to Italy and Greece, Key West, Costa Rica, Iceland and St. Martin. He was looking forward to his first trip to Asia with his parents later this year to meet up with his brother, Dan, who is living and working in the Philippines. Will enjoyed sampling food from home and from around the world, and was happy to be able to give his opinion comparing the merits of Caribbean, Icelandic and Maine lobster. He was an excellent cook himself and enjoyed giving his less talented mom tips, especially on the preparation of his holiday favorites like pumpkin cheesecake. Always interested in current events and the world, and having a keen sense of justice, recent events had stirred a new passion in Will and led him to protests at the Trump Tower in Manhattan and to drive four of his friends to the Women's March on Washington earlier this year, which made his mom even more proud of her son than she already was. Will is survived and greatly missed by his parents, Rick and Melissa Murphy of Scarborough, his brother, Dan, of Manila, the Philippines, and Scarborough; aunts, uncles and cousins; many friends, and the cats he rescued, Simon and Luna. A celebration of Will's too short, but full, life will be Sunday May 7, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at The Portland Club, 156 State Street, Portland, Maine, with a short remembrance service at 4:00 p.m. where family and friends will be invited to share memories and stories about Will. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 8 at 10AM at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, 150 Black Point Road, Scarborough. Family and friends are welcome to attend either or both, but are encouraged to attend on Sunday if their schedules permit. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to The National Geographic Society Development Office, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; or to NYC Feral Cat Initiative, 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite R290, New York, NY 10001-7604; are requested.