John F. Murphy, Jr.

John F. Murphy, Jr., of Hingham, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family at home on Tuesday, September 3, 2019. He was 86.

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1933, to John F. and Helen (McGowan) Murphy, and then raised after his mother’s death by his father and Mary “Meme” (Ahern) Murphy. John graduated from Merrimack College in 1955, then served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Okinawa, from 1956 to 1958. John  received his Masters Degree in education from Salem State College.  He married his college sweetheart, his beloved wife of 61 years, Ann (Hickey) Murphy, in 1958. John then began his lifelong career in education, working for seven years as a speech pathologist in the Lawrence Public Schools. He then worked for the Massachusetts Department of Education, serving as Supervisor of Speech and Reading until 1969, when John became the Director of Special Education for the Hingham Public Schools. He served in this position until his retirement from Hingham in 1992. John enjoyed working part time for many more years with students as a speech pathologist in public schools across the South Shore, including the Hull and Whitman Hanson Public Schools. Together, John and Ann co-founded Successful Parenting Workshops and later Humor Talks and Workshops. They traveled all over the country to teach and inspire people to find humor in all aspects of life.

John loved teaching, humor, travel, reading, magic, life long learning, movies, theater, and most of all his family. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, John F. Murphy, III and his wife Carolyn Murphy, his daughter Mary Ellen (Murphy) Sowyrda and her husband Bill Sowyrda, his granddaughters Jenny Sowyrda and Katie (Sowyrda) Holden, her husband, Terry Holden, and his great grandson, Harrison John Holden.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the visiting hours on Monday 4-8 PM in the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St. (off Central St.), HINGHAM. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 9:15 AM on Tuesday prior to the Funeral Mass in Church of the Resurrection, Hingham at 10 AM.

Burial in St. Paul’s Cemetery, Hingham.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The American Heart Association, P.O. Box 417005, Boston, MA 02241-7005