David Lawrence “Dave” (Murph) Murphy, 70, of Nashua, passed away at his home, Saturday, September 9, 2023, after a period of declining health.
Born in Sanford, Maine on January 5, 1953, he was a son of the late Lawrence “Larry” and Margaret (Tousignant) Murphy. David and his family moved frequently in his early youth due to his father’s position at W. T. Grant department stores and eventually settled in Nashua. He attended schools in Nashua and was a member of Nashua High School class of 1971. Dave and his high school sweetheart Carole along with their Samoyed, Kobe, moved to California from 1977 to 1980. After their marriage in 1980, Dave and Carole moved home to be closer to family in Nashua, and years later started a family of their own. After years of honing his craft of residential painting and home repairs. Dave started DM Renovations, which he operated for twenty-five years. The ability to give joy to his customers in making their home a better place brought him a great sense of pride. Dave enjoyed camping with his family in the White Mountains, where he shared his love for outdoor adventure and the serenity of nature with his wife and young kids. He was always reading a book, and found himself engrossed in history novels, war stories, and science fiction, and even sold a manuscript he wrote, which he believed was brought to life in the opening scene of the 1985 movie “Cocoon”. He had a deep love for music and powerful live performances, and thoroughly enjoyed living alongside rock and roll’s journey, from classic rock to blues rock, southern rock to hard rock. Unfortunately, his lifelong search for the world’s greatest backscratcher was left unfinished, but his family is committed to carrying on this work in his memory.
Woodworking was among his other personal hobbies, and he was always working on or working up a new project around the house, or many times at a friend or family member’s home. He also built the best treehouse a boy could ask for. Dave was a passionate New England Patriots fan through many disparaging years, but unapologetically enjoyed 20 years of the greatest dynasty the NFL ever knew. As a dedicated sports fan and a devoted and beloved father, he made sure he was in attendance at every one of his son’s hockey games and practices. He would happily sacrifice sleep to get Ryan to the rink; many times carrying him out of bed at the crack of dawn, and hitting the roads of Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts as they spent countless hours bonding over sports and music. You could always count on him to be at Corrin’s cheerleading halftime performance and competitions for the ten years they cheered. He was quick to attribute his children as his life’s greatest achievement, and proud beyond words of their achievements and was always supportive of their goals, hobbies, interests and ambitions.
His loved ones described him as loving, funny, a great storyteller, hardworking, loyal, dedicated, and very talented in his trade of carpentry. In his younger years, his outgoing personality made him “the life of the party”. His ability to tell a funny story or lend a shoulder to lean on made him loved by many.
Members of his family include his children, Ryan Murphy and his wife Caitlyn of Chicago, IL and Corrin Murphy of Portland, OR; his former wife, Carole (Goyette) Murphy of Nashua; a brother, Gene Kastler and his wife Jill of Bluffton, SC; two sisters, Sue Boyce and her husband Dave of Hancock, NH and Karen Maynard and her husband Mike of Roswell, GA; brother-in-law, Pat Atkins of Bluffton, SC; as well as many nieces and nephews which he shared years growing closer during family holiday get togethers. In addition to his parents, Dave was also predeceased by his sister, Cathy Atkins and his brother, Gordon Murphy.
A Celebration of His Life will be held on Saturday, September 16th at 5 p.m. at 63 Forest Park Drive, where he and Carole were wedded 43 years ago. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com Arrangements are in the care of the FARWELL FUNERAL SERVICE, 18 Lock Street, Nashua.
