Kathryn “Kathy” Norah Murphy

Passed away peacefully in her 79th year, surrounded by family, in London, Ontario. Kathy was diagnosed with cognitive impairment in 2018, which progressed into Alzheimer’s. Kathryn was born in Dundas, Ontario, to her father, Lawrence Murphy, an accountant, and her mother, Norah (née King), a homemaker. Sister to Mary Hughes (née Murphy) and John Murphy. Kathryn is survived by her daughter, Eliza Wasylyk (née Murphy), whom she adopted in 1987 during a watershed period, as a single parent.

The family relocated to Toronto, where Kathy was active in Girl Guides throughout her youth and was very popular in high school. Kathy graduated from Centennial College in 1966, having achieved a BA in Sociology. In the summer of 1967, Kathy, and her friend Morag, spent the season travelling across Europe, where she discovered her lifelong passion for travelling and experiencing other countries, languages, and cultures.

In 1969, Kathy continued to pursue her passion for education and graduated from Trent University with a Masters in Sociology and Degree in Psychology. Shortly after graduating university, Kathy started working with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society. She was a devoted Catholic and belonged to St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish, where she attended services weekly in North York.

In 1980, Kathy started with The Children’s Aid Society in Scarborough. During her career as a social worker, she was involved with children and families and provided her guidance to keep children safe and make their situations better. Her expertise led to an advancement in 1982 to being a supervisor, leading teams in Long Term Care, Adoption, and Kinship Care programs as well as helping lead and guide other social workers.

Kathy was involved in the ‘Baby’s Best Start’ program as a member of the Executive Steering Committee where she was an active board member and presented at many conferences to help establish the program and promote the health and welfare of children.

She was also pivotal to the success of the Kinship Care program (https://www.oacas.org/childrens-aid-child-protection/kinship/) and was widely consulted for her expertise in the area of kinship care, often regarded as a leader in this field across the province.

In 1987, Kathy successfully completed her adoption of then 4-year-old Eliza Murphy, from a foster care facility in Milton, Ontario. During this time, Kathryn was one of the first single parents to successfully be granted an adoption. Kathy continued to work at the Children’s Aid Society and raise her daughter.

In the early 2000’s, Kathy was confronted with and successfully survived a breast cancer diagnosis. Her indomitable spirit saw her continuing to work through her treatments and adorn a number of wigs, with a red wig to become her favourite to match her feisty determination.

Upon her retirement, Kathy started a consulting role with the Children’s Aid Society for two years to help lead the next generation of caregivers in this challenging and rewarding field. She offered social services to sponsored refugees to organize and help provide care and donations.

Kathy was a strong believer in people and friendships. Always the extrovert, Kathy surrounded herself with work collogues, friends and family as often as possible. Kathy hosted an annual summer BBQ at her home which was always the source of laughter, connection and friendship. Kathy enjoyed celebrating all of the holidays and special days on the calendar. Kathy would put up flags on her porch to commemorate the day, from Easter to St. Patrick’s Day. A ‘Happy Birthday’ flag was always up when Eliza would visit.

Keeping such an active social schedule meant that being physically fit was key to keeping up. Her fascination with her fit bit and counting steps became a daily ritual and she was proud to achieve those goals on a daily basis.

Thanksgiving was a special holiday and one that Kathy was most thankful for. Family and friends would gather annually at Crief Hills (Hermitage Lodge) for a weekend of catching up, and breaking bread. This became a tradition, only interrupted during the COVID years.

Kathy always enjoyed the Christmas season and hosted Christmas gatherings at her home. The highlight of these evenings would be the presentation of a plum pudding, doused in Brandy, then set on fire. ‘Burning the devil out’ became a charming and warm delight that captured the hearts of all of those in attendance.

Brandy was Kathy’s spirit of choice. VSOP became her favourite brand and her signature drink which she would enjoy warmed up and sipped on cold evenings.

Kathy enjoyed musicals and had a love for theater. She was a season ticket holder for the Mervish Theater, where she took in plays and shows often. Kathy’s love for the arts rubbed off on her daughter Eliza, where they saw many productions including Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Kinky Boots and Les Misérables, to name a few.

Circling back to the passion for travel, Kathy has (at a minimum) visited sixteen different countries, states, or provinces in her lifetime. With her daughter Eliza, they enjoyed several trips from Quebec and into the Maritimes, to visiting the West coast into Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also embarked on a trek ‘across the pond’ to England and Scotland, where they visited with relatives and explored Kathy’s ancestral home roots. Upon retirement, and now with a less demanding schedule, Kathy enjoyed adventuring out with her ‘travel buddies,’ Linda and Dermott Donahoe. From hiking in Arizona, she visited exciting and culturally rich places such as Spain, Morocco, Hong Kong (three times), Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Türkiye, Thailand, China, Tibet and Croatia, to name a few.

Kathy ended her journey in London, Ontario, where she was close to her daughter Eliza, son-in-law Steve, and their daughter Genevieve, for several years. Kathy spent her final days in the Wasylyk household, surrounded by her loving family and with the kind and compassionate care of many wonderful PSW’s and nurses. In keeping with her faith, Kathy received the blessing of the last rites, and it’s fitting to end this summation of her life’s accomplishments through the people she helped and touched with how she ended the blessing with her priest. Amen.

Kathy’s cremation was entrusted with Westview Funeral Chapel and a celebration of life will be held in her honour in the spring of 2025. If you would like to attend, share a story and a memory, please email km.celebration@mail.com  for details.

Those wishing to make a donation in memory of Kathy are asked to consider the Alzheimer Society Southwest Partners.