MURPHY, Martha Ann

On Thursday, June 4, 2020,

Martha Ann Murphy, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at the age of 27. She graduated from Atlanta

Country Day School in 2010 and was Valedictorian of her class. Martha Ann then attended Oglethorpe

University where she earned her degree in psychology. The years she spent at Oglethorpe nurtured her intellectual, artistic, and spiritual life and began her interest in trauma research that centered on how to cope with frequent and prolonged hospitalizations. At the time of her death, Martha Ann was in her second year of a PhD program at Mercer University in Atlanta in Clinical Medical Psychology, and she was fiercely optimistic and proud, even in the face of repeated health challenges, of reaching the milestone of her white coat ceremony. Martha Ann showed courage in living with a congenital heart defect and chronic illness in her 27 years of life, and she used her insight and experiences to be an empathetic resource to anyone who felt like an outsider or experienced pain. Martha Ann’s legacy is her beautiful spirit, creative mind, and her willingness to embrace what makes us different.

Martha Ann is survived by her parents, Martha and Sonny, sisters Rachel, Sarah, Sharon Murphy Augustine (Mike), and Nancy Harter, three nieces, Hailey, Kathleen, and Shyla, grandmother, Shirley Widner, aunts and uncles, Jane and Cofield Widner, Joann and John Norman, and Gail and Bill Murphy, many cousins, and her ever-faithful Italian Greyhound, Wally. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather William A. “Bill” Widner and paternal grandparents Therrell Murphy, Sr. and Elizabeth Murphy. A private, family service will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2020. A celebration of Martha Ann’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to Oglethorpe University www.oglethorpe.edu/give2ou.