Charles David Murphy
Born 'Friday's child, loving & giving...', January, 16, 1959, in Lancaster, S.C., Chuck, peacefully, took his Heavenly Father's hand, June 21, 2020, after being 'reborn', as a transplant patient, December 8, 2018.
As a boy he was a voracious reader, curious &, often, 'self-taught', yet, he learned easily from those who offered lessons in cooking, calligraphy, card playing & sailing.
He received his diploma from Palmetto High, Miami,
FL, in 1979, & emerged with a passion for food. His first heady Chef experience was here in the Valley, at Menage on Rt. 191, in 1984, after working in many Miami area establishments & even raw bars in The Keys.
Chuck married, Rebecca (nee, Patterson), on April, 28, 1990, at Macungie Baptist Church. Their family of six includes 3 sons & 1 dear daughter. They raised the kids in Macungie Baptist, New Covenant Christian Community & Bethel Bible Fellowship Church for years.
An employment chameleon, Chuck worked in every field from electrical to carpet to real estate & mortgages to training himself to program computers purely to remain ahead of his kids in this skill.
He proudly served Air Products' I.T. Dept. as a Data Center Architect to his last week of life. A dichotomy, Chuck was very creative & loved gardening. He came alive being an area referee for Youth to PIAA level Lacrosse & Soccer. The young people made his efforts a joy...the other refs made him feel a part of something valuable.
He left a hole down here...Chuck is survived by his wife; his son, Caleb & his wife, Erica (Blazek), his sons Samuel & 2nd Lt., Joel Murphy; his 'Girlie', Mags & her husband, Tracey Smith; his parents, Walt & Julia; his siblings, Mike, Lisa (Ochoa) with her husband, Pat, & Rich & his wife, Irene...nephews: Karl Sera, Bobby, Sean & Kevin Murphy; lovely nieces, Brittany (Stewart) & Kelly (Pearce); his Aunt Charla; his parents-in-law, Jean &
Jerry Patterson, as well as, sisters-in-law, Tami (Catania) & Valerie (Jarvis); Chuck leaves granddaughters, Gavrielle & Avigale Murphy, as well as, MANY grown in-law nieces, nephews, grandnieces & grandnephews of the Murphy & Davies clans.
'Loving & giving', Charles David was a light, a truly kind soul.
There will be a Celebration of Life, TBA, later in 2020 (look for an announcement on his Facebook page). In lieu of flowers or donations, please, cherish people with daily affirmations, if not hugs in Chuck's honor... he would if he could.
Please sign Guest Book on www.themorningcall.com/obits
Survivors: In addition to his wife, Alberta; children, William P. Laudenslager (Bonnie) of Orefield, Heather A. O'Brien (Christopher) of Macungie; brothers,
Ronald J. Laudenslager (Gail) of Wisconsin, Gerald W. Laudenslager of Arizona; grandchildren, Logan, Cameron and Reagan Laudenslager, Taylor, Andrew and Katherine O'Brien; along with nieces and nephews, he will be greatly missed by his nephew, Deacon Ryan Furlong. It was one of his greatest desires to be at Ryan's ordination to the priesthood later this summer. He will be there in attendance…..just looking down from Heaven.
Service: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11:00 a.m., Thursday July 2, 2020 at St. Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church, 1879 Applewood Drive, Orefield with The Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Wargo and The Rev. Msgr. Joseph P.T. Smith as Concelebrants. A viewing will precede the mass from 9:30 – 10:50 a.m. Please come with a mask and follow social distancing guidelines. Interment with military honors will follow the Mass at Calvary Cemetery, Emmaus. The Heintzelman Funeral Home, Inc. in Schnecksville is in charge of arrangements. Online expressions of sympathy may be recorded at www.heintzelmancares.com.
A celebration of William's life will follow at a later date.
Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mary's Shelter – Reading in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box #196, Schnecksville, PA 18078-0196.
Please sign Guest Book on www.themorningcall.com/obits